A Dollop of Wallop, by Harry Wallop
I have just returned from a wonderful family holiday to Venice, a city that shares much with Keswick – and not just because they are beautiful places with a high proportion of water-based activities. It has a tourist problem. Namely, there are far too many of them. And has done for generations.
There is a tourism database, called Airdna, which analyses holiday rental properties. If you think Cumbria with 9,248 holiday rentals is overcrowded, spare a thought for Venice, with 7,933 Airbnb properties. Yes, the Italian city has fewer, but it has a population of 50,000 compared with this county’s 498,000.
But after many, increasingly vociferous complaints – including protests – Venice is finally getting to grips with its over-tourism problem. Could the Lakes and Keswick follow its lead?
Since 2011, all overnight visitors to Venice have had to pay a tourism tax, which is collected by the hotels or Airbnbs and it is listed separately, rather than just being swallowed up in the overall tariff. This has the advantage of highlighting to visitors how much they are contributing directly to the city’s coffers. In high season it can be as much as €5 per person, per night.
But until now, day-trippers have been exempt. And, arguably, it is the day-trippers disgorged from their cruise liners that have caused the most environmental damage, without spending much in the local restaurants or shops. But from 2025, they too will be taxed €5 per day. The tax was meant to be introduced this year, but it has taken longer than expected to be implemented, with many arguments about how best to levy the fee. At one stage there was talk of turnstiles.
Venice has eventually decided to go with a smartpass scheme and a website, which has yet to be launched and random spot checks undertaken by marshals to ensure you have paid the tax. It seems like a recipe for chaos.
But, arguably, the Lake District could do it a far simpler way – through car number plate recognition. After all, bumper-to-bumper cars on the A591 to Grasmere or queuing to find a parking spot at Bell Close cause the problem in high summer.
And if there’s one thing the UK does very well it is tracking cars. All who visit the Lakes by car could pay a daily fee. If they forget to do so, they could be fined using data held by the DVLA. This is not draconian – it already happens across the entirety of central London thanks to the congestion charge. Off-peak it could be as little as £3; on an August bank holiday £15 per car. Residents would be exempt.
There is no point complaining about tourists. We live in an experiential economy. People want to spend their disposable income on doing things rather than buying stuff. But there are mechanisms in place to limit the damage and earn some tax revenue in the process. The Lake District needs to act now to ensure it doesn’t become the next Venice.
