Expansion planned

Italy considers increasing the tourism tax

The upturn in tourism is boosting the Italian economy. In order to make the most of the tourism wave, the government under Prime Minister Giorgia Meloni is considering giving municipalities permission to increase the tourist tax. The tourism tax could be extended to all 7904 Italian municipalities.

According to the government's plan, the amounts are also to be staggered. A tourist would pay five euros for an overnight stay in a hotel for less than 100 euros. The tourist tax could rise to up to ten euros for a room between 100 and 400 euros. For a night in a luxury hotel, the tourist tax would be up to 25 euros per night.

The government's plans have sparked protests from tourism associations. They are calling for a national law to set up a fund to permanently support the modernization of accommodation establishments, which would be automatically financed by part of the revenue from the tourist tax.

A boon for municipal coffers
Until a few years ago, the tourism tax only had to be paid in a few cultural cities. However, in view of the millions of overnight guests registered in Italy every year, the tax is now seen as a real boon for municipal coffers.

The tax is intended to finance the high costs of maintaining palazzi, monuments, memorials and parks. All too often, however, the tourism tax also covers the deficit in municipal coffers. The cities with the highest tourism taxes include Rome and Venice.