Venice became the first city in the world to charge admission to day visitors since Thursday. This caused some confusion at the start. Tourists wandered around the train station with backpacks and suitcases after arriving from the mainland, not knowing whether they would have to pay the five euros for the day visit or not. The regulation initially applies for 29 days until mid-July.
At the moment, no one has to worry about having to stay outside because there are already too many people in the city: there is no upper limit for visitors. A decision will only be made at a later date as to what will happen next year.
With around 15 million guests per year, the Italian lagoon city is one of the most visited travel destinations in the world. Mass tourism brings a lot of money into the Venetians’ coffers, but is now also causing them a lot of trouble. In the fall, her city was about to be placed on a Red List of World Heritage in Danger by the United Nations. This could just about be prevented with the help of the fee that has now been introduced. Other well-visited cities such as Amsterdam, Barcelona and Dubrovnik are now following the experiment closely.
At the start, the city authorities of Venice set up information stands where the arrivals from the mainland were welcomed. There were repeated questions about who has to pay now and how this happens. In principle, all day guests pay five euros between 8:30 a.m. and 4 p.m. You pay online and you receive a QR code as proof, which you have to show on your cell phone when checking. Otherwise, a fine of up to 300 euros may be due.
:Admission to Venice: What visitors need to know now
The lagoon city is overrun by tourists. Now the consequences are being drawn and entry fees are being charged – but not always and not from everyone. The most important questions and answers at a glance.
However, Mayor Luigi Brugnaro initially promised “very gentle controls”. In any case, in the first few hours there was no fine. At the same time, the center-right politician asked for understanding: “I apologize for the inconvenience. But we can’t just talk. We have a duty to preserve the city for the next generations.” According to the administration, more than 100,000 people registered their stay on Thursday alone. However, not even one in ten of them had actually paid admission by morning. All others are locals, overnight guests or other visitors for whom there are exceptions, it said.
The flow of visitors from all over the world has been causing major problems for the city on the Adriatic for many years. Today, fewer than 50,000 people live in the center with its hundreds of canals. There are more than 50,000 guest beds for this purpose. On many days it is almost impossible to get through the narrow streets around St. Mark’s Square and the Rialto Bridge. Some buildings can be seen like they are tourism is a problem. Even St. Mark’s Tower is crumbling. The income will therefore later be used to renovate canals, streets and buildings.
The city’s tourism officer, Simone Venturini, explicitly stated on Thursday that the aim was to deter day visitors in times when there are, as experience has shown, a particularly large number of guests. In street surveys, visitors to Venice, almost without exception, said that they would not be deterred by five euros. Just as regularly, almost all tourists complained that there were too many tourists in the city. There is also talk of increasing the fee next year and extending it to additional days.
Several hundred Venice residents gathered on Thursday morning to protest against the new fee. “It is intended to direct the flow of tourists, but will lead to nothing at all,” said Giovanni Martini, who sits in the opposition in the city parliament for the bourgeois list “Tutta la Città Insieme”. The introduction has been discussed there for four and a half years. Suddenly the right-wing majority around Mayor Luigi Brugnaro pushed through the fee – “mainly to prevent UNESCO from putting Venice on the Red List of endangered world heritage sites,” he said. Now those responsible could say they have taken measures to save the city, which lies half under the sea and is known for its landmarks such as the Rialto Bridge and St. Mark’s Square, from overtourism. “But all they’re doing is setting up this bloated machine that will end up having no effect whatsoever.”
The regulation came into force on Thursday because April 25th is a public holiday in Italy to commemorate the end of the German occupation in 1945. Because of the May 1st holiday, many Italians are using the coming days for an extremely long weekend. In addition, a high-ranking visitor is expected in Venice on Sunday: Pope Francis is coming to the city for a few hours to visit the art biennale. Of course, there is an exception for the head of the Catholic Church: Francis does not have to pay anything.