Venice Becomes World's First to Implement Paid Entry to City for Day-Trip Tourists at €5

After many years of negotiation, Italian Venice will start charging a €5 entry fee for day-trippers in an effort to protect the UNESCO World Heritage Site from the effects of excessive tourism. 

This was reported by the city's mayor's office.

Photo: Venice Becomes World's First to Implement Paid Entry to City for Day-Trip Tourists at €5. Source:  pixabay 

The fee will be collected directly by the Municipality of Venice, primarily through a web application available at https://. cda.ve.it, by logging in to which you can get a title (QR code) to display in case of inspections. The title certifies the payment of the fee or the condition of exclusion/exemption and should be kept with you at all times.

Tickets can be booked online and applied for on 29 peak dates from 25 April to 14 July. The dates are listed on the website. Only those entering the historic centre of Venice between 8:30am and 4pm on any of the peak dates are charged. This includes the Rialto Bridge, Piazza San Marco, La Fenice Opera House and many other popular tourist attractions, as well as quieter areas such as Giudecca Island.

There are many tourists in front of Santa Lucia station, where a gate is installed that residents and daily visitors will have to pass through. staff are stationed at the gate to check the QR codes required for daily visitors to assist with service. Ticket offices and an information point are also located nearby. 

Venice became a mass tourism destination in the 1960s, and since then, the number of visitors has grown to the point where it attracts an average of 40,000 people a day during the busiest periods of the year.

This number of people puts pressure on the fragile lagoon, while pushing residents away from the main island. So the authorities want to make Venice "livable" again.

The latest push for the measure comes after UNESCO threatened last year to add Venice to its list of heritage sites in danger, citing mass tourism and rising water levels due to climate change.

Earlier, as part of the fight against excessive tourism, the authorities of the Dutch capital announced the extension of existing restrictions on the opening of hotels in the city from 2017. According to the new directive, no new hotels can be built in the Dutch capital unless the old one is closed.