ETOA Venice Working Group
Working groups provide opportunity for ETOA’s members and partners to cooperate on issues to do with the business environment for tourism in Europe. They are topic or destination focused. Activities can range from in-person meetings to ad hoc consultation and information sharing.
Their composition is not fixed and expressions of interest are welcome. We try to ensure access to insight from various business models and origin markets, and specialist expertise where applicable. For destination-focused groups, representatives from members’ local offices are especially valuable.
Current activity and priorities
In April 2024, Venice introduced a new tax for day visitors, and it proposes to limit group size to 25 from 1st August. Ticketing for major attractions remains a challenge. (See the City Access and the tourist tax rates pages for more details.)
Latest Meetings
On 19th March 2025 , ETOA held an online Working Group to discuss key challenges and their impact on operations in 2025.
Main topics included the Venice Access Fee payment system, potential future regulations, group size management, and ways to enhance the St Mark’s Basilica booking system.
On 15th April 2024, ETOA was joined by our new partner, FTO, together with local stakeholders and incoming operators to review current business environment, and explore scope for more structured activity.
Topics discussed included:
- Current business expectations
- Origin market insights
- B2B portal for day tax and business impact
- Availability of water taxis and other supply side constraints
- Community sentiment towards tourism
- Local political perspectives and priorities
The meeting was followed by a social networking drinks event, kindly hosted by Hotel Papadopoli.
On 16th April, ETOA participated in a public round table discussion with local officials and other stakeholders about the €5 tax for day visitors. The new B2B registration portal was presented following a discussion about tourism’s place within the city’s overall strategy, and the challenges and opportunities arising.
Companies represented at recent meetings
