Venice to introduce tourist tax to 'save the city' from rising sea

Visitors staying in five-star hotels will see 4.50 euros (£4) added to their bill from Aug 24, while those staying in less luxurious accommodation will pay according to a sliding scale of fees as the city edges closer to the long-vaunted idea of an entrance fee.

Venice council hopes the tax will raise millions of pounds for the urgent maintenance of the city, which is slowly sinking into the mud and is threatened by rising sea levels and more frequent winter storms.

"The fundamental objective is to secure from tourists who visit and love Venice a contribution to sustain a city that is unique, extremely precious but also extremely fragile," said Sandro Simionato, the deputy mayor.

Venice risks being swamped by tourists – the city's population recently dipped beneath 60,000 and it is invaded by the same number of tourists each day.

Critics of the tax fear that it could increase the number of day-trippers because tourists will be reluctant to pay the extra cost of staying the night.

The new tax will apply to hotels and bed and breakfasts in Venice and the islands scattered across its lagoon, as well as camp sites on the mainland.

The levy will vary according to season, but given that Venice's high season is deemed to cover 257 days of the year, including Carnival in February, Easter, the summer months and Christmas, the vast majority of tourists will be affected.

Children aged between 10 and 16 will pay half the tax, while those under 10 will not be charged at all.

Venice is one of Italy's top three visitor destinations, along with Rome and Tuscany.

Earlier this month Italia Nostra (Our Italy), a leading heritage group, said the lagoon city faced an "irreversible" environmental catastrophe and risked "losing its soul" unless the number of visitors was capped and large cruise ships were restricted.