DISNEYLAND

Want to do a Venice Day Trip? Now You’ll Need to Pay a Tax

The city of Venice reached a crisis point in recent years with the influx of day-trippers.

After a year of fits and starts, the Venice city council has officially announced the rollout of a tax to visit the city that will begin on July 1, 2020. The tax is meant to address the crisis of day-trippers (particularly from cruise ships) who clog the sinking city’s streets but contribute significantly less (or nothing at all) compared to those who stay overnight. (Hotel guests already pay a city tax as part of their booking.) The fee structure will be €8 during the high season, i.e. summer, €3 during the low, and on summer weekends, dubbed “critical periods,” €10. While the city hasn’t announced what the fine will be for those who don’t pay, earlier this year the city announced the fine could be as high as €450. Even more shocking, perhaps, is that starting in 2020, day-trippers will have to make an online reservation to even go into the city.