Venice to start slugging visitors extra with new tourist tax

One of the world’s most iconic holiday destinations is going to start slugging visitors extra, with a new tourist tax to be enforced next year.

One of the world’s most iconic holiday destinations is about to become more expensive for tourists.

Authorities in Venice said it would start charging day-trippers a new tax from July 1, 2020.

The day-tripper tax was announced about a year ago, but the implementation of the scheme has been delayed as authorities decided how it would be enforced.

On Wednesday, city officials said they would confirm the exact fee closer to July 1, but it would be between three and 10 euros ($A4.90 and $A16.30) a day.

Overnight visitors in Venice already pay tax as part of their accommodation fees.

Visiting Venice for a day is about to get more expensive. Picture: iStock

Officials will later reveal how the tax will be collected, however there is expected to be exceptions made for those visiting Venice to study and work or for family reasons.

Venice, a canal city that’s long been one of Italy’s most popular destinations, has been struggling under the weight of overtourism.

More than 20 million people visit Venice each year, far exceeding the city’s estimated permanent population of 260,000.

Demonstrations have been held in Venice over the past few summers to protest overtourism and large cruise ships that clog the city’s narrow waterways.

Overtourism has been a problem in the canal city.

A Venice local named Tommaso, who attended a protest at St Mark’s Square in June, said Venice’s lagoon has “never been so full”, leaving the city and locals at the “mercy of mass tourism”.

It’s not the only popular destination to slap extra fees on visitors.

This year Japan announced a departure tax of ¥1000 ($A14) for each person leaving the country by aircraft or ship regardless of nationality.

The tax, collected by the Japanese Government, would be used to accommodate more foreign visitors to the country, develop tourism bases and improve immigration procedures, officials said, according to The Japan Times.

Bali also floated the idea of a tourist tax in January, with the Government drafting a bylaw that would make foreign tourists pay a levy of about $14 to leave the island. It would be used to fund projects for the local environment and Balinese cultural preservation, the Government said in January.