Venice Plans to Charge Tourists €5 Per Day

Venice, Italy is considering an experimental project to charge tourists €5 per day while visiting the city.

It is reported by the BBC. 

The fee would apply to all visitors aged 14 and older and would require them to pre-book entry into the city.

Simone Venturini, a member of the city council responsible for tourism, stated that this experiment will be implemented during the peak tourist season next year. Venice has been grappling with the consequences of excessive tourism, with millions of travelers visiting the city each year, including 13 million in 2019.

In 2021, large cruise ships were banned from entering Venice's historic center through the Giudecca Canal after a ship collided with the harbor. Critics also argue that these ships contribute to environmental pollution and the erosion of the city's foundations, given its susceptibility to frequent flooding.

However, it remains unclear whether the introduction of a daily fee will deter tourists. Karina from Germany mentioned that paying the fee wouldn't be an issue for her, stating, "We are on vacation; €5 isn't that much." Yet, other visitors agreed that something needs to be done. Kel, a student from Ireland, remarked, "It's certainly crowded here. We went to the main square and planned to visit St. Mark's, but the line was too long. However, I think €5 is quite a lot for just a day."

Increasingly, Venice's residents are choosing to leave the city as tourists threaten to overwhelm the historic island city. Valentina Ricci, a doctoral student at the Iuav University, has lived in Venice for five years. She found it challenging to secure accommodation but eventually found a landlord willing to offer a long-term contract to a student. However, others haven't been as fortunate. She stated, "I know students who had to leave their homes in May or June because their landlords wanted to rent to tourists during the summer, and they were only able to return in October."

Citizens' associations Ocio and Venissa conducted a study monitoring the number of accommodations available for tourists versus residents. According to their latest update, there are 49,693 accommodations for tourists and 49,308 for residents, meaning there are more accommodations for tourists than for residents.

Maria Fiano, a teacher who leads Ocio, was surprised by the data that emerged after their research began in April. She explained, "In just five months, the number of accommodations for tourists increased by 1,000 units." According to her, many former government buildings, such as the Chamber of Commerce, have been converted into hotels. She believes the way to address the problem is to limit renting accommodations to tourists and is skeptical about the effectiveness of a daily fee.

As previously reported by The Gaze, UNESCO recommended adding Venice to its World Heritage List of sites facing the risk of extinction. In its statement, UNESCO noted that the consequences of ongoing deterioration due to human interventions, including continuous development, climate change, and mass tourism, pose a threat to the outstanding universal value of the site.