Venice City Council Approves Tax on Day Visitors to Combat Overtourism
In a significant move to counter overtourism, Venice’s city council has given the green light to a regulation imposing a 5 euro ($5.38) tax on day visitors. This new tax is set to be enforced during 30 non-consecutive days in 2024, targeting long weekends in the spring and regular weekends in the summer. The fee will be applicable to day tourists aged 14 and above, while overnight travelers are already subject to a separate tourist tax established in 2011, which varies based on travel season, accommodation type, and location.
The objective behind this tax is to safeguard the city from the adverse effects of mass tourism, as Venice has struggled to manage the overwhelming influx of visitors, often blamed for driving up prices and transforming the city into what locals perceive as a souvenir-laden theme park.
Venice’s resident population, which includes around 50,000 individuals residing in the historic area, is dwarfed by the approximately 5.5 million tourists who visited the city in 2019. Many of these tourists disembark from cruise ships in large numbers, contributing to overcrowding and disrupting the city’s delicate ecosystem.
While taxes and fines can help alleviate the issues related to overtourism, experts suggest that they may not be the sole solution. For instance, Bhutan implemented a daily tourist fee of $200 to attract “high value, low volume” tourists but later reduced it to encourage more visitors. Venice’s new tax, although a step in the right direction, may not be enough to deter travelers who have traveled long distances to experience the historic city.
