Tourist tax in Europe: how Italian hotspots earn millions from visitors
While an overnight tourist tax is still new to the UK, continental Europe has been collecting such levies for over a century. Italy's biggest cities alone earned hundreds of millions of euros from the fee in 2024.
An overnight tourist tax remains unfamiliar in the UK, but countries across continental Europe have been charging such levies for decades. Visitors typically pay the fee when checking out of a hotel or holiday rental, and many are caught off guard when it appears as an extra charge on top of their accommodation bill.
One of the earliest examples dates back to 1842 in Austria, where the charge initially targeted guests at spa and wellness resorts. Similar levies later spread to France, Italy, Germany and Switzerland, aiming to stop local residents from bearing the costs generated by wealthy visitors to their towns.
Italy's shifting approach
Italy's tourist tax has changed shape several times over the decades. Under Benito Mussolini's fascist regime, it was extended to cover any town or city considered a tourist destination. The tax was scrapped entirely ahead of the 1990 World Cup as Italy sought to welcome more visitors, before being reintroduced nationwide in 2011, with Rome the first city to bring it back.
The nightly charge varies by destination and sometimes by hotel category, generally ranging from €1 to €10 per person, while guests at five-star hotels in Milan pay €12. Venice has also charged day-trippers an entrance fee since 2024.
Significant revenue
The levy has become a substantial income source for Italy's most visited cities. According to data from Siope, the finance ministry's tracker of public money flows, Rome collected €222.4m from the tax in 2024, followed by Milan with €109.3m, Florence with €82.9m and Venice with €38.9m.
The funds are officially meant to support local services and monument upkeep in towns struggling with overtourism, but cash-strapped municipalities often spend the money elsewhere. Gianluca De Gaetano, manager of the Rome unit for hotel association Federalberghi, said every municipality wants the fee because they need the funds. He added that tourists generally accept paying it, albeit reluctantly, though they tend to complain when local services fail to match what they paid for.
