Marina Lalli, president of the tourism industry organization Federturismo, notes that many cities illegally use tourist tax revenues to fill budget gaps.
Current law requires cities to allocate this type of funding for tourism purposes, such as multilingual signage and maintenance of tourist attractions.
Garbage collection for tourist money
The government’s new proposal assumes that tourist tax could fund rubbish collection, which has also caused outrage in the tourism industry.
– It is very important that the city looks decent, at least in the tourist areas, but it is not about using tourists’ money to fix things that happen in places where tourists don’t even go, says Marina Lalli.
However, this proposal may appeal to residents of cities that face an excessive number of guests.
– Tourism puts a strain on nature and the entire infrastructure of the city. Italy is far from Bhutan, but it is absolutely right that tourists make a greater contribution, says the former director of the Uffizi Gallery in Florence and current member of the city council, Eike Schmidt.