The Italian government is considering drastically increasing the tourist tax that tourists have to pay for each day of their stay in the city where they are staying. The aim is to help cash-strapped cities increase their revenues and encourage responsible tourism as opposed to mass tourism.
The idea is that all the municipalities in the country that wish to do so, some 8,000 in total, can apply this tax to tourists. Currently, only the provincial capitals, the municipalities with the most visitors and the associations of municipalities can impose the tourist tax. The tax, which is paid for each night of stay up to a maximum of 15, varies from one city to another and is proportional to the price of the accommodation. For example, in Rome it varies from 3.5 euros for campsites to 10 euros for five-star hotels. The government’s plan is for the tax to increase considerably and go from 5 euros in the case of stays of less than 100 euros per night, to a maximum of 25 euros in the case of luxury hotels whose price exceeds 750 euros per night.
Another new development, still under consideration, is that the revenue will not only be used for tourism, as is currently the case, but also for other activities, such as waste collection and treatment. Street cleaning is a problem especially in large cities such as Rome and is also linked to the high influx of tourists, although so far the cost of this service is only included in the taxes paid by residents.
Although it is only a proposal from the Government included in the draft of a bill, tourism industry entrepreneurs have already risen up in arms against Giorgia Meloni’s government. The authorities’ attempts to calm things down have been in vain. The Minister of Tourism, Daniela Santanchè, from Brothers of Italy, Meloni’s party, has assured that it is only a proposal that will be discussed in depth in September with the organisations of the tourism industry. “Not all taxes are taxes. The tourist tax is not. In times of overtourism we are trying to make it a real help to improve services and for the tourists who pay it to be more responsible,” the minister wrote on her social networks.
Federalberghi, the main hoteliers’ association, rejects the government’s proposal. “Tourist entrepreneurs do not agree with the proposal to increase the tax even further,” it said. It protested that the government allowed a few months ago, in view of the Jubilee to be held in Rome next year, the tourist tax to be increased by two euros and also introduced the possibility that the revenue be used to cover the costs of rubbish collection, although this has not yet been carried out. “In practice, with the new proposal, for a room in a three-star hotel priced at 100 euros, up to 10 euros will be paid in tax per night. It is as if the weight of VAT, which is 10%, doubled overnight,” the hoteliers’ association lamented. “The common objective should be to support growth, not to slow it down,” the group said in a statement.
Confindustria Alberghi, another association in the sector, has also attacked the government’s proposal and has pointed out that tourist accommodation “cannot be a mere cash machine for the town councils.” In addition, it has accused the government of betraying the sector. The president of this organisation, Maria Carmela Colaiacovo, in statements to the media, has expressed her “surprise” at the government’s plans, which would “blow up months of fruitful dialogue and confrontation with the sector’s businessmen,” especially if the tourist tax is finally used to cover the costs of the rubbish collection service.
According to a study by the Bank of Italy, in 2023, only about 1,200 municipalities, roughly one in five (22%) of those entitled to the tourist tax, applied it, perhaps for fear that it could deter tourists. While in 2018, the figure rose to 5,700 municipalities, about 70% of the total. Nevertheless, revenue from the tourist tax is growing every year and last year reached 775 million euros.
Tourism in Italy has seen a marked upturn following the Covid-19 pandemic. 2023 was a record year for the tourism sector, where even pre-pandemic levels were surpassed, with over 134 million arrivals and 451 million overnight stays.
Overcrowding has created problems for residents in many cities such as Venice or Rome. The debate on the consequences of mass tourism and a balanced management of high tourist flows has been simmering in Italy for years. It has recently been revived following the protests in Spain in recent months, which have been followed with particular attention in the transalpine country. Residents protest that as a result of excessive tourism, the historic city centres have lost their traditional character and most apartments have been converted into short-term holiday rentals.
In Rome, several neighbourhood associations such as Carteinregola, Motus and the Roman Group for the Regulation of Short-Term Rentals have joined forces and presented their demands to the city council and the central government in a written statement. “Tourism is sustainable when it has limits and it is necessary to work on precise ‘saturation rates’ so that there is a limit on the number of apartments intended for tourism in apartment blocks, as occurs in New York, Barcelona and Florence, to avoid the depopulation of the historic centre,” they said. And they have asked “that the search for large tourist presences be abandoned, in order to govern tourist flows in harmony with the lives of residents.”
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