No tourist tax = increasing costs for Venetians
November 18th, 2006
Once again, the tourist industry can celebrate a victory. Their propaganda machinery, in cooperation with international media, finally made the Italien lefty government put the planned tourist tax on hold. Guests would have contributed with up to five Euro a day, one per each hotel star, for the preservation of monuments and the maintenance of cities such as Rome, Florence and Venice. In reality, the introduction of a tourist tax in other cities and regions has never led to sinking numbers of guests.
While hoteliers’ associations and compliant blogs express their explicit and implicit relief, the City of Venice, which had already included 20 million Euro from the projected tourist tax in their 2007 budget, now has to take the sum from the ever-diminishing Venice residents — by bumping up the prices of waste disposal, i.e. of a facility, whose capacities are in large part absorbed by the 18 million tourists per year. More than a farce.
November 18th, 2006 at 8:00 pm
Why call my blog “compliant?” I simply posted a story–without any editorial comment I prefer to let my readers decide about the wisdom of having/not having a tourist tax.
November 26th, 2006 at 7:26 am
A blog about Venice, fantastic! - Just spent two great days there! Keep up the good work!
Greetings from Austria
December 10th, 2006 at 10:57 am
Why is the German blog being updated and not the English one?
December 20th, 2006 at 3:25 pm
Hi Terry, I’m sorry but I was way too busy in the last weeks. As you see, the german blog lacked updates as well.
March 18th, 2007 at 5:51 pm
The more I read, the more I become concerned about the fate of this beautiful city and its inhabitants. Venice is not Disneyland. It is a centuries old city with modern day problems. Venetians live there who love it. It needs to be protected. It would be a loss to the world, but especially the Venetians if Venice can not surmount its current challenges.
I am a tourist who loves the city of Venice. I say that the local people usually know what is best, as they have the most intimate connection with their town and its heritage. Another tax on tourists may be necessary. I live near San Francisco, Califoria and that city certainly taxes tourists as needed. So should Venice if done for its own good. The larger picture needs to be kept in mind.
June 25th, 2007 at 3:01 am
[…] There was talk about a Venice tourist tax being introduced that visitors must pay before they are allowed into the city. I think this is an excellent idea that the Italian government should have implemented in some form. Even if each of the 18 million tourists who visit every year had to pay just 10 euros to enter, that would provide a fund of 180 million euros per year for the city. […]