The Venetian authorities are considering charging an entrance fee to visit the city. Tourists should pay between 3 and 10 euros per person.
Will we soon have to pay an entrance fee to visit Venice?
According to the Italian daily La Stampa, the Venetian authorities are planning to charge for access to the city of the Doges.
In concrete terms, from the summer of 2022, tourists would have to book a slot in advance, pay the entrance fee and pass through turnstiles located at the main access points of the historic center. It would cost between 3 and 10 euros per person depending on the time of year, says the British newspaper The Times.
However, this tax would only apply to day visitors. Residents and their relatives, children under six and tourists staying in one of the city’s hotels would not have to pay to visit the historic center.
The goal is not to decrease the number of visitors to the city, but to smooth out the sometimes overwhelming influx of mass tourism. “We can’t set a maximum quota of visitors allowed, the law doesn’t allow it.
But thanks to a flexible and dynamic pricing system, we will be able to advise tourists to avoid certain periods, like Carnival or Easter. The amount has been deliberately set low, because money is not the issue,” explains Simone Venturini, councilor in charge of tourism at the municipality of Venice, in an interview with Le Figaro.
30 million visitors
The Italian city, which welcomes 30 million visitors each year, escaped in extremis from being put on the list of World Heritage in Danger by UNESCO, which pointed the finger at the evils of mass tourism. The Italian government announced this summer that cruise ships would be banned from the famous canals.
For years, heritage and environmental activists have denounced these gigantic ships that threaten the lagoon’s fragile ecosystem and the foundations of its historic center.
