Venice tests the water with new tourist tax

Visitors to Venice will find an unexpected charge on their hotel bills from tonight as the city becomes the latest destination to launch a tourist tax.

Anyone lodging overnight on the islands in the Venetian lagoon, or even in the dreary suburbs of Mestre on the mainland, will pay an imposta di soggiorno that adds as much as €10 to bills for double or twin rooms.

Research by The Independent shows that authorities worldwide, from the Maldives to the Rockies, have begun to exploit what they see as a rich seam of earnings.

The Comune di Venezia has produced a lavish brochure in nine languages to announce the tourist tax, promising visitors "you will become one of the city's sponsors, contributing to safeguarding it". The levy even has an official logo – a sticker reading "Thank you for being a sponsor of the splendor of Venice". 

Source: Independent.co.uk