Some European cities are looking to avoid overtourism. And not just by implementing a visitor tax.
Raising prices can be an effective means, however.
Amsterdam this year will raise its taxes on accommodations by almost double, and Venice is implementing a day-tripper tax on visitors. You can avoid the daily fee by booking a hotel room in the city.
The city of Venice also banned large cruise ships in 2021. In May, June and July, Venice will also test a program in which it bans groups of 25 or more from walking through the famous city. Many have interpreted that as a ban on large tourist groups from walking through the narrow streets.
Venice, Italy. (Photo by Lauren Breedlove)
An online travel authorization via the European Travel Information and Authorization System (ETIAS) has been delayed until 2025. But environmental protections, maintaining a quality of life for residents and preserving a city’s cultural heritage have gone beyond the financial aspects of a tourism tax.
In Amsterdam, for instance, the city has banned busses weighing more than 7.5 tons from entering the city center unless they are granted a special exemption. Amsterdam has also identified a new location for its famous Red Light District. The city has had issues with unwelcome tourists getting too rowdy in this area, disturbing things for local residents.
Money can still serve as a detriment, however, and a means to an end for some cities.
Paris, which will host the Olympics later this summer, is increasing its tourist tax by more than 200 percent, so it can raise money for its public transportation system.
But France is also looking to combat overtourism in Paris by engaging social media influencers to highlight other regions of the nation. It certainly is a novel approach.
In Italy, the cities of Rome and Florence have tried to tackle the problem by limiting the number of short-term rentals. As of September of last year, the Greek government has put a cap on the number of daily visitors to the Acropolis in Athens. Putting a cap on the number of daily visitors to a popular site or destination include the Louvre in Paris; Calanques National Park in Marseille, France; Villa de Balbianello near Lake Como, Italy; and Old Town in Dubrovnik, Croatia.
There are other examples as well. In Portugal, the city of Lisbon, for example, has instituted a new tax on cruise line passengers.
European cities are not trying to eliminate tourism, but to redirect it to lesser-known regions.
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