Italy: Venice postpones ‘tourist tax’ on day-trippers until 2023

Venice: Venice has postponed plans to charge visitors a “tourist tax” in its fight against overtourism, according to reports.

Earlier this year, Venetian authorities announced that tourists heading to The Floating City would, starting next month, have to buy tickets for between $3.14 and $10.56 (£2.50–£8.40) per day.

However, the city now appears to have backtracked according to a report by Euronews, following a vote by the Venice town council, which decided that the booking and payment system will now launch on Jan. 16, 2023.

The news comes just one month after the city announced the launch of its portal for incoming tourists to book their visiting slots.

The initial launch plan was part of a larger crackdown on overtourism suffered by the ancient canal city, which in addition to sinking under rising sea levels has sunk farther beneath the weight of day-tripping tourists.

“Tourism starts again in #Venezia,” city mayor Luigi Brugnaro tweeted in April. “A breath of fresh air for operators. Today, many understand that making the city bookable is the right way to take, for a more balanced management of tourism,” the mayor tweeted on April 18. “We will be the first in the world in this difficult experimentation.”