Your holiday to Italy will soon become significantly more expensive

Alarm bells! It could very well be that at the end of your stay in Il Bel Paese, a higher bill awaits you soon. Italy is considering a significant increase in the tourist tax. The goal? To fill the coffers for cities that are short on cash and to ensure that tourists travel more responsibly during times of mass tourism. What does that mean exactly for your next trip to the boot?

Higher tourist tax
The idea is to increase the tourist tax, which you pay when you stay in a hotel. For the most expensive hotel rooms, that tax can rise to as much as €25 per night. The proposal comes in response to the growing public annoyance over overtourism, which sometimes causes more problems than benefits for the overcrowded holiday country.

According to the Italian government, the tax increase should raise revenues and relieve pressure on local infrastructure. In other words, more money for things like clean streets, tidy tourist attractions, and – if we are to believe the policymakers – a better holiday experience for everyone.

Angry hoteliers
Not everyone is enthusiastic about these plans, as not only tourists themselves are potential victims. ‘The common goal should be to support growth, not to slow it down,’ says Federalberghi, an association representing smaller hotels, in a statement. Barbara Casillo, director of Confindustria Alberghi (a club for larger hotels and international chains), warns that Italy is already facing significant competition from other European holiday destinations. ‘If we scare off travelers by showing that we only want their money, we are not doing the country any favors,’ she states in an interview.

Marina Lalli from Federturismo, an organization representing various tourism businesses, complains that some cities are already using the tourist tax “illegally” to fill gaps in their budgets. According to her, the revenues are sometimes spent on things like repairing potholes in the roads – normal municipal tasks, not something tourists should have to pay for.

Is it really going to happen?
Well, fortunately, that is still a wait-and-see situation. The Ministry of Tourism will consult with stakeholders in the tourism sector in September. A ‘possible change in the rules’ is on the agenda, but whether and how that will take shape is still unclear. And everything in its Italian way, right? It could very well take a long time.

Source: Financial Times