Italy's holiday hotspot of Venice is set to charge day trippers with an entry fee starting in spring next year.
After several delays, it was announced earlier this week that the entry fee scheme in Venice will initially be in place for 30 days as a trial, and is being brought in place to fight over-tourism in the historic canal city. The fee is, however, not expected to turn a profit, but just to cover the cost of the booking system. The idea of the scheme is not to make money, but to deter excessive numbers of visitors.
More details on Venice's entry fee
The charge will be in place on peak weekends and other days between April and mid-July for 29 days in total. It will be imposed on visitors who visit Venice's old city, which receives way more tourists than smaller and lesser-known islands such as Burano and Murano.
The day-tripper fee, £4.30 (€5), will be charged for those travellers entering the Italian city between 8.30 am and 4 pm; meaning, day trippers who come into Venice for dinner or a concert won't have to pay it, according to reports in various media outlets.
Also, residents, Venetian-born visitors, students and workers, as well as tourists who have hotel or other lodging reservations, don't need to pay the entry fee in Venice. If a traveller is exempt, then they will have to log their visit ahead of time on a website which is being launched in Jan. 16. Upon registration, a person will receive a QR code which will be checked at spot controls at seven access points around the city. One of the check points is at the main train station.
If a tourist has a room booked in Venice, they will get a QR code via the website but won't have to pay, as the fee is included in the room price.
The entry fee scheme was first due to start in June 2022. It was delayed to January 2023 and again to 2024. The scheme has faced a series of delays because of the city's struggles to recover its tourist numbers following the COVID-19 pandemic.
Italy finally decided on the entry fee after UNESCO announced it was considering adding Venice to its endangered list, partly due to damage inflicted by high tourist numbers. The reputed organisation claimed that tourist officials in Venice had not done enough to protect the city from the impact of the millions of people who visit it each year.
