ROME: Venice is set to start charging tourists up to €10 for visiting the city, including those who have come just for a day trip. The new move is being brought in under a wider budget in Italy in a bid to help boost the local economy.
The problem stems from day trippers and cruise ship holidaymakers who come to the city for less than 24 hours, and therefore often don’t tend to spend in the hotels and restaurants, meaning they don’t contribute as much to the tourism industry as expected.
However, they do contribute to other factors including overtourism and crowding, neither of which are popular with locals.
The money generated by the tourism tax is estimated to bring in a boost of millions of euros which can then be poured back into the city.Venice to deny tourists access to parts of the city as authorities segregate locals and visitors
It would likely be included in costs such as bus tickets, train tickets or cruise ship packages, with firms and companies then passing on the money to the city authorities.
The city’s mayor Luigi Brugnaro announced the news on his Twitter page, explaining that the money will then contribute to efforts to manage the crowds and keep the streets clean, as well as helping locals and improving facilities for guests and visitors. Venice isn’t the only city to be looking to combat the problem of overtourism.
