Anyone who refuses to pay risks a hefty fine.

Venice has introduced a tourist tax. Anyone who refuses to pay is sentenced to a hefty fine.

Venice has introduced a tourist tax. Anyone who refuses to pay is sentenced to a hefty fine.
Every year, over 25 million tourists visit Venice, with more than half of them only visiting the city for the day. These can include passengers on large cruise ships who bring packed lunches and do not spend money in local shops or restaurants. The city has had major problems with littering and excessive tourist flows.

The new tourism law will come into effect at the end of May. Every tourist visiting Venice will then have to pay 3 euros, reports the Daily Mail. From 2020, the tax will increase to between 6 and 10 euros, depending on whether the traveler is visiting the city during the low or high season.

Will pay for garbage disposal
The tax will finance, among other things, garbage collection and cleaning of public places.
Those born in Venice or who live, work or study in the city do not have to pay the tax. Neither do children under six years of age or people visiting their relatives in the city.

Tourists staying at local hotels also do not have to pay because the hotels already charge a tourist tax.

Where and how the tax will be collected has not yet been determined.
“This is an important turning point in the work on Venice's tourist flows,” says Luigi Brugnaro, mayor of Venice, to the Daily Mail.

Resistance and protests
The authorities expect some resistance to the law at first. Protest groups have already shown their displeasure, Express reports. They say it will be difficult for locals to prove they live in the city. It will also be unsustainable to have long daily queues at the city border where tourists have to stand and wait before being allowed in.
But the authorities are strict and say that visitors who refuse to pay the tourist tax risk a hefty fine of up to 450 euros.

Source: aftonbladet.se