Venice plans to experiment next year with an entrance fee of 5 euros for day trippers in an attempt to manage the flow of tourists attracted by its historic canals, the city council announced on Tuesday (September 5). A “tax” which caused debate last year in Italy and which we told you about in our previous articles:
From next year
The fee will be applied on a trial basis for 30 days next year, focusing mainly on spring holidays and summer weekends, when tourist numbers will be at their peak. All visitors over the age of 14 will have to pay.
The aim was to find “a new balance between the rights of those who live, study or work in Venice and those who visit the city”
Officials say the fee would only cover the costs of administering the program.
The exact dates of the plan and how it will be carried out will be agreed upon after final council approval, expected next week.
The project, first mentioned in 2019, was initially postponed due to Covid-19, which kept tourists away, then for technical and procedural reasons.
Meanwhile, visitors have returned to Venice in droves, with foreigners often far outnumbering the city center’s roughly 50,000 residents crowding its narrow streets.
Overtourism has long been a problem for this fragile lagoon city.
In July, UNESCO experts recommended that Venice and its lagoon be added to its list of World Heritage in Danger, saying Italy was not doing enough to protect the city from the impact of climate change and mass tourism.
