After years of debate, Venice on Thursday began charging 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 tackle overtourism.
Critics question whether a nominal fee will deter people from visiting one of the world’s most desirable destinations. But officials hope it might encourage some to rethink their plans and decide to come on weekdays or in the off-season.
That may help soften the impact of the estimated 20 million visitors who descended last year on the city’s beleaguered residents of 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 said, is to make people aware of the uniqueness — and fragility — of Venice. Hypertourism is creating an economy based solely on tourism that risks killing the city by driving out its dwindling residents, said Nicola Camatti, an economics professor and tourism expert at Venice’s Ca’ Foscari University.
When will the Venice charge start?
The fee went into effect on Thursday, a public holiday in Italy. For 2024, city officials have singled out 29 peak days when day-trippers to Venice between 8:30 a.m. and 4 p.m. they have to pay. Days run until mid-July and are mostly on national holidays and weekends. The website with access fees provides a list of dates.
Who should pay?
While almost all visitors to the city must register to obtain a QR code, not all visitors must pay the fee. Overnight stays in registered accommodation such as hotels or Airbnbs are exempt, as they already pay a daily tourist tax, as are people studying or working in Venice and those visiting relatives. There’s more exceptions also.
Residents of Venice, those born there and minors under 14 are among those who do not need to register. But they must have documents proving their status.
It’s possible next year different fees will be in place on a sliding scale that will depend on how many people city officials expect on any given day. City officials said the fees could be as high as 10 euros a day.
How will the system work?
Before coming to Venice on peak days, visitors should use it Website to register and receive a QR code.
The code will be scanned at points where visitors enter, such as the train station, the city car park, the airport and the long waterfront along the St. Mark’s Basin where boats moor. The access points will have one line for tourists and another for residents and what officials call city users, who come to Venice for reasons other than sightseeing.
At least for now, those who don’t register early can do so at certain access points or on their cellphones, officials said. Assistants will be available.
Initially, the controls will be “very soft,” said Michele Zuin, the city councilor responsible for the budget.
Speaking to reporters at the foreign press association in Rome this month, Mayor Luigi Brugnaro said the fee is not about cashing out tourists. “The cost of the operation is higher than what we are going to do,” he said.
Why is Venice doing this?
City officials hope to relieve some of the stress tourists put on the city by encouraging them to come on less busy days. They also say that by knowing in advance how many visitors to expect, the city can better develop services.
“We want to better manage the number of tourists and prevent mass tourism” that makes it difficult for residents and visitors to “live in this city,” Mr. Zuin said this month.
To monitor the flow of visitors, the city already tracks them through phone location data and surveillance cameras, a system some critics have likened. Big Brother.
Venice has also fallen under the scrutiny of the United Nations’ cultural agency, UNESCO, whose experts worry that not enough is being done to protect the city. Last year, Venice was at risk of being added to UNESCO’s list of World Heritage Sites in danger of disappearing after the organization’s experts ranked mass tourism, along with climate change and development, as a major threat to its future. He called on City Hall to take steps to ameliorate the damage.
The city council approved the access fee just days before UNESCO voted on its status and Venice remained off the “at risk” list. But UNESCO officials said in a statement that “further progress is still needed” to preserve Venice.
Critics of the access fee note that officials have not limited the number of visitors and say the nominal fee is not nearly a deterrent. As recently as Friday, city officials said some 80,000 visitors thronged the city’s narrow streets, as the streets are known, and the gardens of the 2024 Venice Biennale, still the world’s premier place to discover new art.
How else is Venice trying to limit visitors?
Venice has also taken other measures it hopes will reduce what city officials call “mordi e fuggi” tourism, or “eat and leave,” referring to those seeking the city’s greatest hits — the Rialto Bridge and the St. Mark’s Square – and who bring packed lunches and dump their trash, contributing little to the local economy.
After years of heated debate and protests from keen 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 loudspeakers.