September 13, 2023 - Venice's main island, the Centro Storico, has been suffering from mass tourism for a long time. The 51.000 residents are confronted with twice the number of visitors on “bad” days. This burden will be addressed in 2024.
A good four years ago we wrote on this topic: “According to the Italian tourist office, around 9,5 million visitors visit the province of Venice every year. There are also day guests and the more than one million cruise ship passengers. All in all, 30 million visitors could visit the historic old town every year. On individual days up to 130.000 day guests are said to be in the city center.”
Venice - Crowds in St. Mark's Square
Cruise ships, with the exception of small ship units, were banned from the city center. Overtourism has remained. In order to counteract this, the local council of the lagoon city has now decided on an entrance fee of five euros for day tourists. The regulation applies to certain days until further notice. In 2024 there will be a total of 30 days in which the number of visitors will increase. An extension of this rule will be considered at a later date.
The measure is not a tool to create money. It's more about improving the quality of life of the residents. In the future, people over 14 years of age who visit Venice for a day will be required to pay. Commuters, students, residents of the Veneto region and local property owners are exempt.
The measure does not cause any technical problems: day guests download a QR code onto their cell phones. These codes must be presented during inspections. Violations can result in fines of between 50 and 300 euros.