Campaign For A Living Venice

The system in Venice that once allowed residents to rent out a room in their home has morphed over the years. With the advent of online booking, in particular Air BnB, people now rent out their whole homes or keep empty properties to rent out. These rentals evade the tourist tax paid by hotel visitors or renters of rooms at registered Bed and Breakfasts in the city.

Generazione 90 has proposed to the government that it reach an agreement with AirBnB to collect the tax online, at the time of booking. They propose working closely with AirBnB to be sure that visitors are clearly informed about what they are paying. Furthermore Generazione 90 proposes that a document that outlines basic rules of comportment in the city be sent to each renter.

Revenues generated from this additional tourist tax income would be earmarked for use in the maintenance, care of cultural sites and local public services.

Generazione 90, a group of 20 and 30 year old Venetians who are working to promote livability in the city, point out that while this model is new to Venice, it has been tried with success in Florence, as well as Paris and Amsterdam. Florence has seen its tourist tax revenue double since implementation at the beginning of this year.

Generazione 90, in a statement, underlined the fact that their proposal is not against tourists, but rather against the lack of management of tourism.
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