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It may soon become more expensive to visit Italy, as the country is proposing higher tourist taxes to boost tourism revenue and to address growing public discontent against over-tourism.
But the proposal has not been welcomed by hotel and travel industry associations, which claim the move would scare away tourists and push them to visit other European countries instead.
Federalberghi, which represents small and medium-sized hotels, opposed the proposal. “The common goal must be to support its (the tourism sector’s) growth, not to slow it down.”
Discussions between Italy’s tourism ministry and trade associations to possibly modify tourist tax rules are scheduled in September.
“Not all taxes are a tax. The tourist tax, or rather the purpose tax, is not,” Italy’s tourism minister Daniela Santanchè recently said. “In times of overtourism, we are discussing why it is a real help to improve services and make the tourists who pay it more responsible.”
The debate over higher tourism taxes comes at a time when Italy faces a huge debt burden, which the IMF forecast will reach early 140% of GDP this year. To note, the tourism industry is expected to contribute nearly 11% of Italy’s GDP in 2024.
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