Venice will start entrance fee to protect its beauty

Friday, March 1, 2019

On day-trippers, Venice Council has voted to start an entrance fee to preserve the much-visited lagoon city, setting up an example that other tourist hotspots are watching, the mayor said on Wednesday.

Almost 25 million tourists visit Venice every year, of which almost 14 million spend just one day there. Many of them just spend fun times, bringing no income to the local businesses.

At a meeting on Tuesday, councillors tremendously promoted the entrance fee, saying that now on day-trippers would have to pay 3 euros ($3.42) each to enter Venice, which is a UNESCO World Heritage Site.

The amount will rise to between 6-10 euros from the start of 2020, depending on the high or low season.

“This is unique in the world, the first time that anyone has dared to do anything this important to help manage a city,” said Mayor Luigi Brugnaro, who has championed the scheme.

“Other cities across Europe have already called us to ask for information about what we are doing. We are acting as a trailblazer,” he added.

The city council has not mentioned at first exactly how they will gather the money, but the mayor has made suggestions that ultimately the transport companies bringing in visitors will add the amount to the cost of the ticket.

Tourists who spend the night in local hotels will be exempted from the fee.

The head of the northeastern Veneto region, which includes Venice, supported the decision, explaining that it would elevate the city to the status of an open-air museum.

« Back to Page