Venice Italy — Under the glare of media around the world, the fragile lagoon city of Venice launches a pilot program Thursday to charge hikers a 5-euro (about $5.35) entrance fee that authorities hope will deter visitors from arriving on peak days and will make the city more attractively liveable for its dwindling residents.
Signs have been posted outside the main train station and other arrival points warning arriving visitors of the new requirement for a 29-day trial phase until July.
About 200 flight attendants have been trained to politely escort anyone who is unaware of the fare through the process of downloading a QR code. A kiosk has been set up for those who do not have a smartphone. Once past the designated ports of entry, officials will conduct random checks on QR codes showing that the excursion tax has been paid or that the bearer is exempt.
Violators face fines of 50 euros to 300 euros. The requirement applies only to people who arrive between 8:30 am and 4 pm. Outside of those hours, access is free.
“We need to find a new balance between tourists and residents,” said the city’s top tourism official, Simone Venturini. “Of course, we must safeguard residents’ spaces and discourage hikers from arriving on certain days.”
Venice has long suffered from pressure from overtourism, but officials say pre-pandemic estimates ranging from 25 million to 30 million visitors a year (including day trippers) are unreliable and that the pilot project also aims reach more exact figures to help better manage the phenomenon.
By contrast, registered overnight visitors last year totaled 4.6 million, according to city figures, down 16% from pre-pandemic highs.
Venturini said the city is affected when the number of hikers reaches between 30,000 and 40,000. Its narrow alleys are packed with people and water taxis are overcrowded, making it difficult for residents to go about their business.
However, not all residents are convinced of the new system’s effectiveness in deterring mass tourism and say more attention should be paid to increasing the resident population and the services they need.
Venice passed a telling milestone last year when the number of tourist spots for the first time surpassed the number of official residents, which is now below 50,000 in the historic center with its picturesque canals.
“Putting a ticket to enter a city will not reduce by a single unit the number of visitors who come,” said Tommaso Cacciari, an activist who organized a protest Thursday against the measure.
“You pay a ticket to take the subway, to go to a museum, to an amusement park; you don’t pay a ticket to enter a city. “This is the last symbolic step of a project of an idea of this municipal administration to expel the residents of Venice,” he said.
Venturini said about 6,000 people had already paid to download the QR code, and officials expect Thursday’s arrivals of paid hikers to reach about 10,000.
More than 70,000 people have downloaded a QR code indicating an exemption, including for working in Venice or as a resident of the Veneto region. People staying in hotels in Venice, including those in continental districts such as Marghera or Mestre, must also obtain a QR code proving their stay, which includes the hotel tax.
The tourism official says interest in Venice’s pilot program has increased in other places suffering from mass tourism, including other Italian arts cities and cities abroad such as Barcelona and Amsterdam.