Venice’s tourist tax will continue into 2025, expanding collection to cover 60 days between early spring and late summer, with 2024 revenue exceeding €5.4 million from more than 720,000 day-trippers.

The city recorded a record 38.8 million overnight visitors in 2024, supported by a mandatory overnight tax of €5 for many visitors.

Critics argue that rising living costs and a prioritization of visitors over residents are driving population loss, with Italy’s overall low birth rate cited as a contributing factor.

Venice’s historic center population has fallen to about 47,995, marking a decline of more than 12,000 residents on the main island since the 1950s.

The debate features opposing views: some blame tourism-driven price rises and lifestyle changes for population decline, while others urge policies to balance tourism with local quality of life and housing.

Experts note that internal migration and shifting demographics, not just overtourism, are driving Venice’s shrinking central population and transforming its urban landscape.

Locals say they feel like foreigners in their own city, as a tourism-focused economy replaces a traditional community with few long-term residents and a proliferation of souvenir- and tourist-oriented shops.