Local Taxes

Record revenue from tourist tax in 2024

The purpose tax applied by more and more municipalities but the unknown remains as to the real use of the collected resources. Zacchera: 'It must be earmarked for the intended purposes'.

by Enrico Netti

4 April 2025

Roma. Eccezionale afflusso di turisti al Parco archeologico del Colosseo (Mimmo Frassineti / AGF)

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Key points

Destinations
Municipalities adopting it for the first time
Between motives and purposes

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The record year for Italian tourism, with 458.4 million presences, +2.5% over 2023c, gives wings to the coffers of municipalities that have adopted the tourist tax payable by those staying in hotels and non-hotel facilities. In 2024, in fact, the proceeds of this 'tax of purpose' "gave a national revenue of 1,024 million euro with a significant +29.1% compared to the previous year's receipts," Massimo Feruzzi, head of the National Observatory on the tourist tax and sole director of JFC, a tourism marketing company, explains to Sole-24 Ore. Revenues from the tax will increase again this year and JFC estimates an increase very close to 16%, which will bring the revenue to 1,186 million while the number of municipalities that will apply it will be 1,389".

Record revenues for municipalities affected by tourism that hardly ever allocate these resources to tourism services. "The area of destination of the proceeds of the tourist tax appears to be interpreted extensively by all local authorities both in relation to environmental cultural assets and in relation to the related local public services for which it would have been appropriate that, at least partially, they should have been earmarked for tourism services," says Antonio Zacchera, executive vice president of Confindustria Alberghi. It turns out that the same despite being a purpose tax is destined for tourism purposes by the municipalities only for a minimal part that is less than 20% of the total collected despite an increase, in some cases even of 50%, of the collections in 2024 alone. We hope that a unified regulation will be adopted on a national scale, avoiding the babel of values that each municipality currently applies, and that it will be used for the purposes envisaged by the legislation that established it. In fact, according to Jfc data, it currently only serves to heal the 'chapters' of municipalities' budgets that are not otherwise covered'.

The destinations

In absolute terms, according to JFC's calculations, the region where the tax has yielded the best receipts is Lazio, where the figure is just over 300 million, compared to 189 million in 2023. Tuscany follows with almost 122 million and Lombardy with 114 million. It is no coincidence that the same regional capitals stand out in the ranking of the cities of art: for Roberto Gualtieri the revenue was 292 million with +61% over 2023, Sara Funaro (Florence) exceeded 76.5 million (+9.9%) while Giuseppe Sala (Milan) reached 76.5 million (+23.2%). Each of these administrations has launched a series of increases for this year due to the Jubilee 2025. Milan, for example, has launched price increases of up to 40%.

Among the purely holiday destinations, Rimini came out on top with around 14 million euro and an increase of almost a third. Sorrento, the pearl of the Gulf of Naples, collected around 9.2% (+31.6%) while Jesolo, the second beach in Italy, remained stable with 5.7 million euros. Turning to the mountains, Castelrotto, on the Alpe di Siusi, received 5.1 million with +43.5% over 2023. In the same area is Selva di Val Gardena with around 3.5 million (+39%) followed by Corvara in Badia with 2.8 million (+41%).

The 'little' Lake Como beats Garda. In fact, in Como, the tourist tax reaches 4.1 million with an important increase of 88% while tourists who chose Peschiera del Garda, whose fortress is part of the Unesco World Heritage together with its two ancient pile-dwelling settlements, paid 2.8 million while Lazise, a municipality with large campsites, stops at 2.3 million. Lastly, thermal tourism: in Abano, with its four- and five-star hotels with springs from which a water known since Roman times for its properties gushes out, the figure was over 3.7 million (+22%), while in Merano it was 3.2 million (+37.2%) and in Ischia just over 2.2 million (+12.4%).

Municipalities adopting it for the first time

In the space of 15 years, the number of municipalities adopting the tourist tax has multiplied. In 2011, again according to JFC's findings, in the first year only 13 administrations with a revenue of only 77 million led the way, while by the end of the year there will be almost 1,400. In fact, in the first months of 2025 already 51 municipalities have introduced or approved the introduction of the tax. One can start with several provincial capitals such as Udine, Caserta, Pavia and Ascoli Piceno. Among the seaside resorts that have introduced the tourist tax as of 2025 are Bellaria Igea Marina, Quartu Sant'Elena, Castel Volturno, Gela, Montesilvano, Termoli, Bagheria and Torre del Greco. More generally, the locations range from Crema to Ponti sul Mincio, from Livigno to Pregnana, from Valdieri to Limbiate, from Boscoreale to Garbagnate, from Uscio to Pieve a Nievole, from Domodossola to Tirano, but also Ronco Canavese, Venosa, Vezzano, Duino Aurisina, Casalmaggiore, Petralia Sottana, Bastia Umbria, Azzano San Paolo (in the province of Bergamo), Santo Stefano Magra, Nocera Inferiore, Sesta Godano, Genzano, Valvarrone, Castel del Piano, Maslianico (in the Como area), Pioppi, Zone, Montecchio, Bosisio, Venaria Reale, Bedizzole.

In 39 other municipalities, they are debating what to do while there are many more, as many as 81, who have decided to increase the contribution to be paid by tourists. This is the choice made by the administrations of Capaccio Paestum, Novara, Oulx and Marsala, which have essentially doubled the rates, but increases of various kinds will have to be paid to stay in Milan, Bologna, Bolzano, Pesaro, Perugia, Vicenza, Viterbo, Limone, Gargnano, Cesenatico, Sirmione, Poggibonsi, Chiavari, Bardolino, Rapallo, Salò, as well as Monterosso al Mare, Budoni, Cervia, Bibione, Alberobello, Fiumicino, Ferrara and Costermano.

Instead, the municipality of Brescia approved to 'decrease, as of 1 July, tourist tax rates by 50 per cent for all types of accommodation (with a minimum value of one euro per day) starting from the sixth consecutive overnight stay per person'. According to JFC, the average stay of tourists in Brescia is well below six nights, the average being almost 2.3 nights. More like a tactical move of no effectiveness.

Between motives and purposes

The upward adjustment of rates is motivated in various ways, from the need to cope 'with the cuts imposed by the budget manoeuvre' to the need to 'deal with the problems of overtourism' without explaining what measures will be adopted. Others resort to the indications of Law 213 of 30 December 2023, which states that 'on the occasion of the Jubilee 2025, the provincial capital municipalities have the right to increase the amount of the tax to be paid by tourists staying in accommodation facilities located on their territory'.

Tourist tax, in intention, serves to promote tourism and improve the facilities or services offered to visitors, but apparently, Feruzzi recalls, there is no precise accounting of the money collected. "There are still too few administrations that present a clear and precise account of the use of these resources," Feruzzi points out. "Since they have no specific accounting constraints, they only communicate how much has been collected and not the details of the real investments made. So the tourist tax in many municipalities is not used to make the location more welcoming, take care of public green areas, improve safety, place tourist signs or prepare a multilingual app that tells about the destination and its attractions.