Have you been to Venice? Did you know now that Venice has won approval to introduce an entry fee of up to €10 (£9; $11.50) for short-stay tourists?
It is expected to be set at €2.50 to €5 per person, but at peak times in the summer it could rise to €10. Venice plans to have the tax in place for the 2019 high season. It will apply only to tourists, but it is not clear whether it will replace a city tax already levied on hotel occupants. I’m sure I will be getting lots of calls from customers who have booked into a Venice hotel stay about this and at present we don’t have the answer.
Hundreds of cruise ships moor in Venice every year, allowing over a million passengers to see the city’s sights. This can only be good for the country and particularly for Venice.
Apparently Venetians have long complained that mass tourism is swamping the city, adored for its picturesque canals. I’ve been and it is beautiful there but I don’t see why the locals should complain. Any country should be proud of tourism and the money generated for the locals. If the cruise ships didn’t bring so many people, would Venice have as many passengers just from rail or air? I’m not sure and if they don’t then surely they would be losing money so to me it doesn’t make sense.
Cruise passengers are easily identified, Italian officials say, but it may prove harder to tax day-trippers arriving by air, road or rail. I kind of agree that you can identify most cruise passengers, half get off the ship with their lanyard around their neck so yeah it give us away.
They say that Local residents, workers and students will be exempt. For years there have been protests by Venetians who say mass tourism is spoiling the city’s character and I totally disagree with this. What do they want? No tourists, so no spending money in their shops and their excursions? I think they’re being spoilt brats who need a reality check. If you live in a tourist area, that attracts tourists for it’s sights then you need to expect tourists. Let’s face it all tourists spend money there.
I don’t agree with the tourist tax and it may just be enough to put passengers off and what if cruise ships then refused to enter Venice if they had too many complaints from their passengers? Would their economy drop and invite us back? I believe it should be a free world and we shouldn’t have to pay for entry tax and visa’s but that’s another debate.
Let me know what you think and if you would pay the tax to enter as short stay tourist?