Much of Europe already levies a tourist tax – a nice little earner for Italian hotspots

While England makes its first foray into unfamiliar territory, it’s proved a boon for Italy’s cash-strapped municipalities

A nightly tourist tax may be unfamiliar territory in the UK , but countries in continental Europe have been cashing in on these kinds of levies for decades.

Tourists usually need to pay the tax on the day they check out of a hotel or holiday let, and are often surprised by an extra fee on top of their accommodation costs.

Among the earliest introductions of a tourist tax was in Austria in 1842, specifically targeting those who stayed in spa and wellness retreats.

Similar measures were later implemented in France, Italy , Germany and Switzerland as a way to prevent the inhabitants of towns hosting such high-end resorts from paying for costs incurred by wealthy visitors.

Italy’s tourist tax structure has gone through various changes. During Benito Mussolini’s fascist regime, it was broadened to include any town or city classified as a tourist destination.

The tax was then completely abolished for the World Cup in 1990 as Italy embraced more visitors, only to be brought back in nationally in 2011, with Rome becoming the first city to reintroduce the levy.

Depending on the destination, and sometimes the hotel type, the nightly fee typically ranges from between €1 (£0.86) and €10 per person, although guests of five-star hotels in Milan pay €12.

Venice has also had an entrance fee in place since 2024, although that is only targeted at day-trippers.

The overnight levy is a serious earner for popular Italian destinations. In 2024, Rome made €222.4m, followed by Milan (€109.3m), Florence (€82.9m) and Venice (€38.9m), according to data from Siope, the finance ministry’s tracker of public money flows.

The revenues are supposed to be spent on local services, especially in towns and cities buckling under the pressure of overtourism, or on maintaining monuments. However, the reality is that cash-strapped municipalities use it for other expenses.

“All municipalities want the fee because they need the money,” said Gianluca De Gaetano, the manager of the Rome unit for Federalberghi, the hotels’ association.

Tourists mostly just absorb the payment, even if begrudgingly. “They tend to complain when they find that the services in a city are not up to par, especially if they’ve already paid a lot for their accommodation,” said De Gaetano.