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Hotel tax in Rome is due to double from today (Monday) after operators were given just five weeks notice of the change.
The planned hike means a family of four staying at a four star hotel in the Italian capital for four nights must now pay an additional €96 in local hotel tax against €48 last week, according to the European Tour Operators Association.
The organisation argued that no explanation had been given for the sudden increase and claimed that visitors have become “involuntary taxpayers without benefit or voice”.
Etoa chief executive Tom Jenkins said: “While tax is certain, tourism is not. Tourism relies on planning, on predictable charges being assembled and presented to the visitor.
“The finances of Rome must be in a desperate condition for them to resort to such a move. Five weeks’ notice is an abject admission of failure in financial planning.
“Recently, Ignazio Marino, Rome’s mayor, rightly insisted that tourists were largely safe and welcome in his city. Their pockets are clearly not safe from his administration.”
Jennifer Tombaugh, president of US-based operator Tauck, said: “We have already begun selling our 2015 journeys with pricing calculated on rates that did not include the proposed tax increase.
“Our business model does not permit us to go back to our clients with increased pricing or surcharges. Should the increase occur in September it will have an immediate and harmful effect on our bottom line.
“We must now reconsider any planned marketing activities intended to promote Italy and Rome, and instead consider investing those funds in promoting other destinations that will provide a better return on our investment.”
France abandoned a parliamentary proposal in June to impose a tax increase on hotel stays in order to preserve its position as the world’s most popular destination, according to Etoa.