Recently, a meeting was held at the Brunelli Hall of the Municipality of Desenzano del Garda, organized by Desenzano Holiday, an association representing 99 owners and 150 establishments, including vacation homes and B&Bs. The event featured the participation of Vincenzo Telese, Account Manager at Booking.com, and the Tourism Councillor Stefania Lorenzoni. During the meeting, the association reaffirmed its commitment to combating illegal short-term rentals, emphasizing its active collaboration with the relevant authorities to ensure the compliance of accommodation facilities. Starting in January 2025, Desenzano Holiday will also have two representatives in the committee responsible for managing the tourist tax, aiming for a more balanced cooperation with hoteliers.
Furthermore, the association highlighted the importance of the short-term rental sector in contributing to the local economy through the revenue generated from the tourist tax, which is essential for funding events and public works. Desenzano Holiday intends to promote sustainable tourism and enhance the services offered to tourists, also proposing a division dedicated to finding properties for traditional rentals accessible to residents by October 2025. Finally, there was expressed opposition to the proposal to replace the tourist tax with a city tax, deemed inadequate as it does not accurately reflect the contributions of the various local tourism sectors.