Venice Launches Second Year of Day-Tripper Tax

Venice is once again charging day-trippers an arrivals tax for the second year following the success of the program—but while the tax is hailed as a new way to raise funds for preserving the city’s UNESCO World Cultural Heritage status, the numbers haven’t been shown to deter the crowds. 

Day-trippers, defined as those who visit Venice without spending a night there, will be required to pay 5 euros, about $6, when they register their trip at least three days in advance. If they don’t, and make plans to visit the city last minute, they’ll be charged 10 euros, which is about $11. Day-trippers must have a QR code scanned at entry points throughout the city, including train and bus stations. 

According to the Associated Press, Venice’s tax generated 2.4 million euros, but the cost to run the new system was around 2.7 million euros. This year, officials predict they will earn 1-1.5 million euros, designated to offset the cost of trash collection and other services. 

Around 450,000 day-trippers paid the tax last year. During the first 11 days of implementation, Venice welcomed 75,000 daily visitors on average, which was 10,000 higher than during the city’s popular holidays in 2023, showing that the tax did nothing to deter day-tripping travelers. 

Day-trippers won’t be charged for visiting daily; there are 54 designated days that day-trippers will be required to pay to visit Venice, mostly weekends and holidays from April 18 to July 27. There were only 29 of these designated days last year. 

Venice is experiencing an overtourism crisis, with more hotel beds than current residents. There are around 25-30 million travelers visiting Venice each year. For every resident in Venice, there are 21 tourists visiting the city, congesting roadways, dirtying the fragile city and creating a housing crisis from a large number of apartments being turned into short-term rentals. 

Travelers are advised to study the situation and choose more responsible ways to visit the city instead of day-tripping, visiting Venice in less popular seasons and staying in local accommodations over short-term rentals. 

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