Venice Introduces New Tourist Tax With A Hefty Fine For Anyone Caught Dodging It

Tourists heading to Venice could be slapped with a €450 (£385) fine if they refuse to pay the city's newly introduced entry charge.

Venice city council gave the thumbs up to the new €3 (£2.57) per day visitors' tax, which will go towards paying for services in the city such as cleaning public areas and refuse collection, meaning it will be introduced from May this year.

PA

According to the Daily Mail, the tax will rise to between €6 and €10 (£5 to £8.50) from 2020, depending on the time of the year.

It's not been announced how the city will implement the tax, but anyone who does try to dodge it is running the risk of a hefty fine.

People born, living, working or study in Venice will be exempt, which is handy, imagine having to pay €10 just to live in your own home for the day.

Also exempt are kids under six, people visiting their family and tourists staying in local hotels, because the tax is already added to the hotel's rates.

Luigi Brugnaro, the mayor Venice, said: "This is a significant turning point in the management of Venice's tourist flows."

Veneto governor Luca Zaia added: "Venice needs respect, and as is the case with museums, sports stadiums, cinemas, trains and airplanes, it needs to have planned visits...which makes it sustainable both for tourists and the city."

The stunning city of Venice is a tourist hotspot, welcoming around 25 million visitors every year...but with such a heavy footfall there are inevitable costs with keeping the area looking neat and tidy.

Around 50,000 people are lucky enough to call Venice home, however, they're not all enamoured with tourists, with some complaining that it falls to the residents to foot the bill for cleaning and security.

In 2017 the city introduced the #EnjoyRespectVenezia campaign to urge tourists to be more mindful while visiting and introduced a number of fines for anyone falling foul of the rules.

Paola Mar, who was councillor for tourism, said at the time: "The message we have to get through is that we're not joking.

"If it gets about that people who do this kind of thing are fined, as well as it being flagged to their respective embassies, perhaps we'll be able to stop others copying."

Topics: World News, travel, tourism

Claire Reid

Claire is a journalist at LADbible who, after dossing around for a few years, went to Liverpool John Moores University. She graduated with a degree in Journalism and a whole load of debt. When not writing words in exchange for money she is usually at home watching serial killer documentaries surrounded by cats. You can contact Claire at [email protected]

@ClaireReid19