This increase is not the result of an isolated decision: it is based on an Italian state decree allowing municipalities located near Olympic venues —in the regions of Lombardy and Veneto— to raise their tourist tax by up to 5 euros per night. In Milan, the rise takes into account this legal authorisation and combines it with a strategic vision to seize the Olympic moment in order to strengthen municipal resources.
According to the city administration, half of the revenue collected will be allocated to the usual purposes of the tourist tax, such as destination promotion and the preservation of cultural and environmental heritage. The other half will go directly towards financing Olympic-related projects, including infrastructure upgrades, improvements to transport services and the adaptation of facilities to host the event.
Milan’s hotel and tourism sector has already voiced its opposition to the measure. Accommodation associations believe that such a sharp rise, at a time when the recovery of international tourism is still consolidating, could be ill-timed. They warn that the increase in visitor costs may impact the city’s competitiveness compared with other European destinations and could jeopardise key segments such as business travel, where price sensitivity is high.
Industry representatives stress that the impact of this hike could extend well beyond the Olympic period and ultimately have a negative effect on the city’s ability to attract events, congresses and trade fairs. Known for its dynamic calendar of business meetings, lifestyle events and design fairs, Milan will have to carefully calibrate how it manages this new tourist levy to avoid losing ground to more affordable European competitors.
For its part, the municipal government argues that this decision is also an act of solidarity with the wider territory: the Olympic Games represent a unique opportunity for international visibility, for the development of transport infrastructure and for the global positioning of Milan and the Lombardy region. In this sense, the measure is presented as a contribution from visitors to the city’s collective effort to host a world-class event that meets high standards. Moreover, the authorities expect that the influx of travellers, already on the rise thanks to the Olympic pull, will help cushion the impact of higher accommodation costs.
How travellers —particularly those on weekend breaks or short getaways— will react, and what concrete effects this decision will have on hotel occupancy in 2026, remains to be seen. In the coming months, it will be crucial for Milan’s tourism sector to strengthen its communication and emphasise the added value the city offers as a destination, so that visitors feel that the higher cost translates into tangible improvements in the urban and tourism environment. In short, Milan has opted for a strategy of increasing its tourist tax in line with its major Olympic horizon. The success of this measure will depend on its ability to balance the demands of the event, visitor expectations and the city’s competitiveness in an increasingly dynamic European tourism market.
