Venice doubles number of days with tourist tax by 2025

Venice, Italy, will double the number of days tourists have to pay an entrance fee by 2025.

The tourist tax, intended to help combat overtourism in the city, was initially tested for 29 days from April 25 to July 14, 2024, including weekends and holidays. For 2025, the city will impose a 54-day tax – payable every Friday through Sunday and on holidays from April 18 to July 27.

Bookable day trippers will have to pay 5 euros (about $5.40 at current exchange rates) to enter the city. This fee increases to 10 euros if booked less than four days in advance.

Before testing in 2024, Venice tourism tax has been hotly debated for many years; it faced many delays and setbacks before launching in April.

During the test, visitors entering the city before 8:30 a.m. or after 4 p.m. (or those staying in hotels that have paid the accommodation tax) are exempted. Tourists who do not pay will be immediately fined between 50 and 300 euros for not having random spot checks. This is expected to continue to be the case in 2025.

The tourist tax was originally introduced to combat overtourism in Venice, which is arguably one of the most famous and loved destinations in Europe. However, few visitors were discouraged by the fee – an average of 75,000 visitors arrived in the city each day during the first 11 days of the trial.

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Back in July, Mayor Luigi Brugnaro and Assore Deputy Mayor Simone Venturini hinted that the tax would continue and potentially increase as enforcement ramped up.

Although the trial period did not significantly reduce the number of visitors, it did generate approximately 2.4 million euros in additional income. According to city officials, the money will be used to fund essential municipal services in Venice, such as trash removal and canal maintenance. According to Brugnaro, further analysis is still needed to evaluate whether the program will break even or not.