charging a visitor to enter the city

charging a visitor to enter the city 

Explanation of Venice's new €5 entrance cost

Talk to officials and locals to learn more about Venice's recent declaration that it will be the first city in the world to charge daytrippers.

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Federica Chiuch, a citizen of Venice and certified tour guide, leads tourists around the city's famous sites every day. It is challenging for her to find a peaceful place to halt when she arrives at Saint Mark's Square, which is home to Venice's church and former government building. The square is always busy between May and October, she said. "With the constant background noise, it's difficult to move through and speak over it."

Venice has emerged as one of the most prominent overtourism victims over the past three decades. Currently, the city hosts an estimated 30 million tourists annually, significantly more than the 50,000 people who truly call it home. Additionally, more than two thirds of visitors stop by for only one day.

This month, Venice's municipal authorities unveiled plans to combat these problems by imposing a divisive levy on day visitors of €5. Venice will be the first city in the world to start charging people to enter its grounds as a result. Travelers are want to know how the new measure will effect them, so BBC Travel speaks to authorities and locals to learn when it begins, who will be required to pay, and how visitors may visit the city in a more sustainable way. The news of the admission charge has sparked controversy.

What is the issue?

Overtourism is straining the city's infrastructure in addition to making life miserable for both locals and visitors. In addition, much like in cities like Lisbon or Barcelona, it is forcing Venetians to leave because there is a shortage of affordable accommodation and landlords are switching from long-term rentals to short-term stays that generate large profits.

Venice, a city surrounded by sea, is subject to much greater dangers. Increased boat traffic in the city's canals as a result of the tourism boom is creating waves that are destroying the foundations of Venice's centuries-old structures. Due in part to the harm that cruise ships' massive size do to structures and the seabed, the Italian authorities barred cruise ships from anchoring in the heart of Venice two years ago. Due to "insufficient efforts" to protect the city, Unesco threatened to add Venice to its list of World Heritage Sites that are in danger last August. It was obvious that action was required.

Where did the concept for the entrance fee originate?

The implementation of a €5 "entrance contribution fee" for day visitors was proposed by the municipal government of Venice, and it was approved by the Italian government in 2019. The notion was partially inspired by tiny Italian islands like Ponza that have a cost for disembarking, with the intention of making some day trippers reevaluate their travel plans.

During the pandemic, the project was shelved, but it was just picked up again. The new charge will be put to the test by Venice's municipal administration beginning in the spring of 2024. Simone Venturini, a city councilor for tourism in Venice, claims that this trial will provide decision-makers the chance to experiment with the fee before making it permanent.

What dates and when does the trial period begin?

Starting in the spring of 2024, 30 dates will be chosen by Venice to apply the entry price. Although they have not yet been made public, they will take place during seasons of high tourism to discourage visitors from visiting on days that are especially busy.

According to Venturini, "We will test out the fee during days of high travel demand, like Easter weekend."

Who will be impacted by the trial?

Visitors arriving in Venice for the day will be subject to the admission fee, which only applies to the historic city center of Venice (excluding neighboring islands like Murano). Exempted groups, according to a list of regulations released by the local government, include overnight guests, locals of Venice and the surrounding Veneto region, relatives of Venetian citizens, people arriving for work or volunteer purposes, students enrolled in Venice's universities, athletes visiting Venice for sporting events, and minors under the age of 14.

How is the admission cost calculated?

Day visitors must register and pay the €5 cost on a soon-to-be-launched portal. The portal will produce a QR code that can be downloaded as proof that the money has been paid. Local authorities will enforce this by randomly inspecting persons and requesting to see the QR code. In the trial, if someone is stopped by the police without the code, they will also be permitted to pay right away.

Even those who are excused from paying the charge, such as citizens of the greater Veneto area, must register. According to Venturini, doing so will enable officials to better predict the number of visitors expected on any given day and adapt services like rubbish removal appropriately.

The IT system and local authorities' QR code checks will be paid for in the first year with money from the entrance charge. The development of a reservation system and a package of incentives to discourage visitors from visiting at busy times is currently the major objective, according to Venturini.

Why is it only for day visitors?

Two thirds of all tourists are day trippers, who are primarily made up of large tour groups, cruise ship passengers, and locals from the Veneteo area. Davide Bertocchi, a professor of tourism geography at the University of Udine, asserts that despite exerting enormous strain on Venice's infrastructure, day visitors do not contribute much economically to the city.

These sizable groups, according to Bertocchi, typically adhere to a set three- to four-hour plan that concentrates on famous sites like Saint Mark's Square and the Rialto Bridge, which causes unmanageable congestion in the city's narrow streets and 1,000-year-old bridges. They typically don't pay money to go to churches or museums, shop at locally owned stores, or eat at restaurants.

Overnight tourists, on the other hand, spend more on lodging and food. Additionally, they are already liable to the tourist tax for Venice, which is a charge made directly to their lodging and used to support the maintenance of the city's tourism industry and the preservation of its cultural heritage.

What distinguishes the admission fee from the tourist tax?

Tourist taxes range from €1 to €5 per night depending on the kind of lodging and are included in a person's hotel bill in Venice (and throughout Italy).

Contrarily, only day visitors to Venice who do not spend the night there will be subject to an entrance price.

What do people think about it?

Different responses have been aroused by the entrance fee announcement. One year ago, 1,000 local residents gathered to oppose the introduction of the admission price. During a municipal council meeting last week, the announcement of the entrance fee trial was met with vehement opposition.

The admission charge, according to Anna Scovaricchi, a traditional bookbinding craftswoman who moved her family of four to nearby Padua because she would no longer afford her rent, "is a joke." People will undoubtedly spend €5 to visit Venice, she predicted. The absence of homes and the city's transformation into a massive bed and breakfast are the true issues.

An entrance price is not the best strategy to control overtourism, according to Venice Day Trips, a tour company that offers cultural itineraries in Venice and the surrounding area. The company's founder Rachel Erdman stated, "What we would like to see is a closed number [of tourists] with a clear booking process," adding that they typically advise clients avoid visiting Venice during the summer or other busy travel times. "A tax to enter the city is something we don't really agree with."

Trade associations, however, seem optimistic over the admission charge. The trade group for regional artists told the Italian newspaper La Repubblica that while the entrance fee system will "probably need to be improved," it is a decent first step in preventing overtourism.

What are the officials claiming?

In response to criticism, Venice's municipal authorities stated that the entry charge program is now in its trial stage. Venturini declared, "We want to try this out. "We want to see if charging €5 can persuade some people to visit Venice on off-peak days."

Do other cities charge a price to enter?

Taxes on tourism are nothing new. Megan Epler Wood, managing director of Cornell University's Sustainable Tourism Asset Management Program (STAMP), claims that other places have implemented fees as a way to control overtourism. For instance, the Balearic Islands implemented a "eco tax" in 2016 to pay for the protection of the natural and cultural resources of the archipelago; Belize has been collecting fees from tourists since the 1990s to pay for the preservation of its coral reef and a variety of biodiversity assets. Bali, Barcelona, France, Austria, Croatia, Costa Rica, New Zealand, and most recently Iceland are among tourist locations that charge visitors.

But no nation has ever introduced an entrance fee like Venice. The majority of places charge a tourist fee as part of the cost of lodging, a plane ticket, or a visitor's visa. For the first time, day visitors will have to pay to enter a city.

The tax's ultimate objective is likewise different. In Belize or the Balearic Islands, taxes are explicitly collected to fund ecotourism initiatives. Instead, no particular fund receives the entry fee for Venice. Venturini clarified that the funds received from guests will only be utilized to pay for the booking system's expenses.

Why not set a limit on the number of visitors?

Many locations affected by excessive tourism, such as Antarctica or Machu Picchu, have imposed daily limits on the number of visitors permitted. Venturini clarified that Venice is a city, not a tourist destination, and that imposing a visitor cap would violate Italy's fundamental right to free movement.

How can visitors to Venice travel more sustainably?

It only takes a little bit of investigation, according to Valetia Duflot, creator of Venezia Autentica, an organization that promotes sustainable tourism in Venice. She advises staying a few nights so you can see Venice when day visitors aren't there, booking accommodations from local businesses wherever feasible, spending money at local establishments for meals and souvenirs, and choosing guides who are completely qualified to work in the area.

Chiuch says that raising awareness is a key component of the solution. I always educate tourists on Venice's difficulties, such as the harm caused by cruise ships, she added, and I offer advice on how to stray from the trodden path and steer clear of congested areas.

Additionally, she believes that encouraging sustainable behaviors can increase visitors' awareness of their responsibility for maintaining the city. I constantly remind tourists that Venice is a piece of our shared human heritage, thus it is up to us all to keep it beautiful, she said.