The Rome City Council has approved Budget Councillor Silvia Scozzese's proposal to increase the tourist tax in Rome. This tax has remained the same since 2014 and will now be raised to new amounts.
There are significant increases of the tourist tax, ranging from 71 to 100 percent, in the non-hotel sector, which includes vacation homes, bed & breakfasts, and guest houses. There are also increases in the hotel sector. For instance, 5-star hotels will charge 10 euros instead of 7 euros, while 4-star hotels will charge 7.5 euros instead of 6 euros a day.
Tourist taxes in three-star hotels and agritourism have increased from 4 to 6 euros. A two-star hotel will have a daily tax of 5 euros, while a one-star hotel will have a tax of 4 euros. Campsites and tourist resorts will see a rise in tax from 2 to 3 euros, but no increase for hostels, mountain huts, and refuges, where the tax will remain at 3.5 euros per day.
In the meantime, the Mayor of Rome, Roberto Gualtieri, expressed gratitude to the hoteliers for their input during the discussion. He also emphasized the importance of collaborating with them to enhance the quality of local hospitality. Finally, he urged the government to promptly approve their request to require the display of the Unique Identification Code in online advertisements.
Alessandro Onorato, Tourism Councillor, has proposed a three-line rule to the Minister of Tourism, Daniela Santanchè. This rule aims to bring out at least 15,000 businesses in the extra-hotel sector. According to Onorato, this could help generate an estimated revenue of 180 million EUR from the tourist tax in the current year. He believes that if the tax is calibrated as a percentage of the cost of the room on a national level, it will lead to higher revenues and more equitable expenses distributed based on the tourist's spending capacity.