by You would think that Italy, the country that basically invented tourism, would have figured out how to manage it by now. But this is not the case. And the price we are paying for tourists is small.
Tourist flight is a global issue, but this week’s destination is Venice, which is trialling a €5 (£4.30) entry fee for day-trippers along with other tourism control measures. Back in the 17th century, when the nobility visited Venice as part of the Grand Tour, daily arrivals would have registered in the dozens. Today, during busy periods, the floating city (which is only 2.7 square miles) can receive as many as 110,000 tourists a day.
The subject of over-tourism in Venice is as common as the scuffed old steps of the Rialto Bridge. Unesco has threatened to add the crowded city to its endangered heritage list, and Venice’s municipal authorities periodically announce new measures to solve the menu of problems they face. In 2021, for example, cruise ships were banned from docking in the old town, and more change is to come. From June 2024, tour guides will be prohibited from shouting through loudspeakers, and the groups they will lead will not be allowed to exceed 25 people.
Both measures are sensible, but the benefits of a €5 (£4.34) entry fee are less obvious. Announcing the fee in September, Simone Venturini, Venice’s tourism adviser, said it would “disincentivize daily tourism in certain periods”. But at a price point lower than a fridge magnet, it’s hard to see many tourists turning around at the gates. As the money collected will not go back to the renovation of the city, but will only cover costs related to the system, it also seems unnecessary.
In other corners of Italy, ill-prepared tourists could be coughing up much higher sums. In April 2023, the mayor of Portofino announced that two of the most popular spots in the village would become “red zones”; Stay too long in these photogenic spots and you could be fined up to €275 (£238). In Florence, meanwhile, you can pay to “skip the queue” at certain art galleries, with no guarantee that you won’t have to wait (albeit a shorter one) on arrival.
There are more. Sit on Rome’s Spanish Steps and you can be fined up to €250 (£217) (rising to just under £350 if you damage the steps), wander Sorrento in a bikini and could be slapped with €500 (£433) on you. bill, you’ll play football on the shores of Lake Garda and potentially be liable for €600 (£520), walk the paths of the Cinque Terre in flip-flops and risk coughing up €2,500 (£2,167) . Curiously, building a sandcastle on a particular beach in Eraclea (near Venice) is fined up to €250 (£217). Happy holidays, kids.
Less controversially, parts of Italy have a tourist tax, which can range from 87p per night to £6 depending on the star rating of your accommodation and the length of your stay. This is not unique to Italy (even Manchester introduced a £1 levy in 2023), but the jury is out on whether tourism taxes are an effective means of managing over-tourism.
As of this week, Amsterdam has increased its tourism tax (already the highest in Europe) from 7 percent to 12.5 percent of the hotel room rate. The city tariff for cruise passengers has also increased. Callum Booth, a British writer based in Amsterdam, says: “The tourist tax seems to be a measure to line the pockets of local government, rather than a policy designed to make a real difference to the number of tourists and the types of visitors who come. Amsterdam. .”
In Barcelona, the tourism tax (starting from £2.38, but due to rise in April) has had little effect on numbers: “We haven’t seen the tax increase affect demand,” says Natasha Thorne , director of sales and marketing at the Centre. Casa Bonay four stars. “But we don’t mind the tax. Barcelona is a very populous city with a lot of tourists, and if that needs to be offset by a tax, we totally agree.”
Justin Francis, co-founder of Responsible Travel, says the usefulness of tourism taxes depends on how local authorities have to spend them. “The two main beneficiaries of the 5 percent nightly room tax in Lancaster County in the US are the tourism board and the convention center – not residents, their cultural and natural heritage, or most visitors take advantage of it,” he says.
As the global pressure on bad tourist behavior increases, expect more fines to be applied in the resorts. And, like them or not, entry fees and nighttime tourism levies aren’t going anywhere. Bali, Valencia and Iceland are among the destinations set to introduce new taxes for 2024. More to come.
The only mercy is that, in almost all cases, entrance fees and tourist taxes are rarely so high as to make a holiday unaffordable. Make sure you don’t sit on the wrong steps, or build a sandcastle on the wrong beach, and you should be well on your way to making your next mortgage repayment.
