Varennaenchanting village overlooking the banks of the Lake Comois located today at the center of a heated debate on sustainable tourism. Despite being very small and accounts just 670 residentsthe town must deal every day with a real assault on visitors: About 17,500 daily touristsa number that exceeds 25 times the local population.
To launch the alarm was the Mayor Mauro Manzoniwho denounces the growing difficulty in managing flows and costs related to tourism that consumes resources without leaving economic repercussions significant on the territory.
So what to do? The administration’s proposal is to introduce a landing tax of 5 euros – perhaps to be discounted to who had lunch or dinner in restaurants or shops in shops – for the so -called “Tourists biting and escaped”that is, those who visit Varenna for a few hours, without staying overnight and without contributing to the local economy through consumption or services. These visitors, explains the mayor, often generate only waste to be disposed ofwhile the only one Stay tax Continue to weigh only on those who spend at least one night in the village.
A proposal that could be extended to other neighboring municipalities
The idea is to request a symbolic economic contribution – a few euros – at the entrance to the village, inspired by the example of Corenno Plinywhere for three years you have paid a 4 euro ticket to visit the historic center. The resources thus collected would be reinvestite To improve the quality of public services, urban cleaning and the logistical organization of the territory, increasingly under pressure in the high season months.
Mayor Manzoni also hopes for a ministerial intervention, with the extension of the provision to neighboring municipalities such as Bellagio (with the proposal that the mayor Angelo Barindelli has already liked)Menaggio and Tremezzinaalso affected by the same phenomenon, being in the area of Lario centerthe point of conjunction of the three branches of the lake.
The debate remains open, but one thing is certain: without effective measures, the risk is that Varenna’s beauty and livability come compromise. Find a balance Between tourist welcome and territory protection, it is now a priority not only for Varenna, but for many Italian locations struggling with increasingly intense tourist flows and concentrated in a few hours of the day.
