Venice officials defend day-tripper tax, but delay the decision on extending it
Venice city officials say the day-tripper tax netted 2.4 million euros during a test phase this summer, and that decisions on how to proceed would be made in the fall after a full analysis of the data
MILAN — Venice city officials said Friday that the day-tripper tax netted 2.4 million euros ($2.6 million) during a test phase this summer, and that decisions on how to proceed would be made in the fall after a full analysis of the data.
According to the city, the 5-euro tax was paid 485,062 times over the 29 test days, mostly weekends and holidays, from April 25 to July 14. The final numbers included paper access tickets sold to bus tours, cruise ships and some tour operators, accounting for about 1,000 entrances on each of the test days.
Italians accounted for 60% of visitors to the ticket website in the period, followed by U.S., German and French citizens, ranging from 6.5% to 4% of the totals.
City officials have indicated that the system, where day-trippers pay an entrance fee, would be extended next year, and doubled to 10 euros, at least on some days, but did not make any immediate announcements.
Mayor Luigi Brugnaro said that the city would consider adjusting the fee based on if the tax is paid in advance, or at the last minute. He defended the tourist tax from critics, who called it a failure for allegedly not deterring arrivals, as envisioned.
“We listened to citizens, to associations, to thousands of people, but in the end, there were no alternative solutions to ours,” Brugnaro said. “We thought to take this road of the controls, which were light enough, not invasive.”
Visitors not staying in lodging in the city were required to download a QR code showing they had paid the tax; officials said that the average
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