VENICE – On its busiest days, Venice swells with tourists who clog the city’s narrow streets, leave behind piles of garbage and often frustrate locals. So the canal-crossed Italian city is fighting back.
Starting April 25, and for another 29 days scattered mostly around national holidays and weekends through mid-July, day trippers to the historic part of Venice will have to pay €5 (S$7), a measure city officials hope will encourage people to come during less busy times.
All visitors to Venice will also have to register their presence in the city on the specified days, filling out an online form on the Venice Access Fee website (cda.ve.it/en) to help officials gauge how many visitors to expect and strategise about how to handle them.
“It’s not about making money – the costs of the operation are higher than what we’re going to make,” Mayor Luigi Brugnaro told reporters on April 4.
Said Mr Michele Zuin, the city official in charge of budgeting and economics: “The aim is to better manage the number of tourists and disincentivise mass tourism, which is what creates, let’s say, the difficulty of living in this city.”
Visitors staying overnight in Venice will not have to pay, nor will those travelling there to work, visit relatives or study.
Anyone born in the city is also exempt, as are minors younger than 14. There will be no cap on the number of visitors allowed in.
Venice has struggled to protect a uniqueness that is threatened by climate change and rising seas, as well as mass tourism.
To counter that figurative and literal erosion, the city has installed giant gates at four mouths of the Venetian lagoon to keep seawater out and pavements dry, and banned cruise ships from the inner canals.
After registering on the website, visitors will receive a QR code that they will be required to show when entering the city. There will also be spot checks throughout the city.
For now, anyone arriving in Venice without a QR code will be allowed to buy it at the last minute, either on a smartphone or at kiosks set up leading to the access points, officials said.
Transgressors will face fines of €50 to €300 plus a €10 fee, Mr Zuin said. NYTIMES
