Venice, the canal city in Italy, became the first in the world to experience an increased volume of visitors, albeit with the introduction of an entrance fee.
The city authorities announced a further increase in entrance fees from 5 euros (approximately $5.50) to 10 euros (about $11) in the upcoming year since the current tourism market represents the low impact of entrance fees.
Venice was the first major city in the world to implement an entrance fee to address over-tourism at the beginning of this year. The fee system ended on Sunday and lasted 29 days, from April 25th, Italy’s Liberation Day, to the weekends and public holidays from April to July.
Approximately 450,000 tourists paid the 5 euro entrance fee during this period, raising about 2.2 million euros (approximately $2.42 million). The authorities in Venice plan to use this money for essential services such as garbage collection and maintaining the city’s appearance. Despite inaugurating this drastic measure, Venice authorities have failed to reduce the influx of tourists. According to data cited by the Associated Press, an average of 75,000 people visited Venice each day in the first 11 days after the instigation of the entrance fee, and even the number increased to 10,000, which is more than the same period last year. Giovanni Andrea Martini, a member of the opposition in the Venice city council, claimed that “Venice’s entrance fee policy has miserably failed.”
The entrance fee only applies to tourists visiting Venice for a day trip and does not apply to tourists who stay overnight. Residents of Venice are calling for restrictions on new permits for shared accommodation facilities rather than imposing entrance fees. As the city overflows with tourists, the number of residents leaving due to noise, privacy intrusion, and skyrocketing housing prices is increasing. The population within Venice’s historic district has decreased from over 130,000 in 1961 to less than 50,000 currently.
However, Venice authorities are confident that the situation will change next year with the increase in the entrance fee. They did not expect significant results from the policy in its first year of implementation. Simone Venturini, the city’s tourism councilor, stated, “Venice is still too cheap,” and “to think about an increased access contribution to put a stop to excess tourism.”
Michele Zuin, the city councilor responsible for the budget, mentioned that the first year of the trial implementation did not yield any remarkable effects, which was anticipated. He added that the situation will change once the entrance fee is increased to 10 euros.
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