After years of debate, Venice will on Thursday charge day visitors five euros to visit its fragile historic center on peak days, making it the first city in the world to adopt such a measure to combat overtourism.
Critics are questioning whether a small fee will deter people from visiting one of the world’s most sought-after destinations. But officials hope it will prompt some to reconsider their plans and decide to come on weekdays or during the off-season. That could help soften the impact of last year’s estimated 20 million visitors on the city’s beleaguered residents, who number fewer than 50,000, according to municipal statistics. About half of those visitors came just for the day, city officials said. Overnight guests are exempt from the fee.
The spirit of the initiative, city officials have said, is to raise awareness of the uniqueness — and fragility — of Venice. Overtourism is creating an economy based solely on tourism that risks killing the city by displacing its dwindling residents, says Nicola Camatti, professor of economics and expert in tourism at Ca’ Foscari University of Venice.
When does Venice start charging?
The compensation takes effect on Thursday, a public holiday in Italy. For 2024, city officials have selected 29 peak days when one-day travelers in Venice will have to pay between 8:30 a.m. and 4 p.m. The days run until mid-July and mainly fall on national holidays and weekends. You will find a list of dates on the entrance fee website.
Who has to pay?
While virtually everyone visiting the city must register to obtain a QR code, not all visitors have to pay the fee. Overnight guests in registered accommodations such as hotels or Airbnbs are exempt, as they already pay a daily tourist tax, as do people studying or working in Venice and people visiting family. There are also other exemptions.
Residents of Venice, those born there and minors under the age of 14 are among those who do not need to register. But they must have documents proving their status.
It is possible that different rates will apply next year, on a sliding scale depending on the number of people city officials expect on a given day. City officials said costs could reach 10 euros per day.
How will the system work?
Before coming to Venice on peak days, visitors must register via the website and receive a QR code.
The code is scanned at points of visitor entry, such as the train station, the city parking lot, the airport and the extensive waterfront along the San Marco Basin where boats dock. The access points will have one line for tourists and another for residents and what officials call city users, who enter Venice for reasons other than sightseeing.
At least for now, those who don’t register in advance can do so at some entry points or on their cell phones, officials said. Assistants will be present.
Initially, the controls will be “very soft,” said Michele Zuin, a city councilor responsible for the city budget.
Mayor Luigi Brugnaro told reporters at the Foreign Press Association in Rome this month that the fee is not intended to cash in on tourists. “The cost of the operation is more than what we are going to incur,” he said.
Why does Venice do this?
City officials hope to alleviate some of the stress tourists place on the city by encouraging them to visit on less busy days. They also say that by knowing in advance how many visitors to expect, the city can better deploy services.
“We want to better manage tourist numbers and discourage mass tourism,” which makes it difficult for residents and visitors to “live in this city,” Zuin said this month.
To track the flow of visitors, the city already monitors them through phone location data and surveillance cameras, a system that some critics compare to Big Brother.
Venice has also come under scrutiny from the United Nations culture agency, UNESCO, with experts concerned that not enough is being done to protect the city. Last year, Venice risked being added to UNESCO’s list of endangered World Heritage Sites after the agency’s experts identified mass tourism, along with climate change and development, as a major threat to the future. He called on the town hall to take measures to mitigate the damage.
The city council approved the entrance fee just days before UNESCO was due to vote on its status, and Venice was left off the ‘in danger’ list. But UNESCO officials said in a statement that “further progress needs to be made” to preserve Venice.
Critics of the entrance fee note that officials have not limited the number of visitors, and they say the nominal fee is hardly a deterrent. On Friday, city officials said about 80,000 visitors visited the city’s narrow calli, as streets are known, and the gardens of the 2024 Venice Biennale, still the world’s most important place to discover new art.
How else does Venice try to limit visitors?
Venice has also taken other steps that it hopes will reduce the tourism that city officials call “mordi e fuggi” or “eat and flee,” referring to those seeking the city’s greatest hits — the Rialto Bridge and the St. Mark’s Square – and who take packed lunches and dump their waste, which contributes little to the local economy.
After years of heated debate and protests from vocal Venetians, the city banned cruise ships from its inner canals in 2021, although Mr Camatti, the tourism expert, said the ban on the ships had not reduced the number of day visitors.
This year, the city imposed a limit of 25 people per tour group and also banned the use of megaphones.