Venice is going to start charging tourists to visit the famous city in a world first to cut overcrowding.
In an effort to stem the throng of visitors from around the world, from January Venice is going to become the first city in the world to charge people to visit.
It will charge day-trippers between three to ten Euros (£2.60 to £8.60).
The exact prices depend on the season and whether they were booked in advance and tourists who fail to show the QR code will face a massive fine of €300 (£260).
Prices would also vary according to the number of visitors with the more requests there are, the higher the entry costs.
There are set to be exceptions to the upcoming fees. This includes children aged under six, people with disabilities, and people with homes or timeshares in Venice, as long as they pay council tax.
The fees are set to come into action from January 16, 2023, making it the first city in the world to charge an entrance fee.
The city long referred to as ‘La Serenissima’ (The Most Serene) is clearly no longer as peaceful as Venetian complaints have reached boiling point.
The main island, which measures only 2sq miles and is populated by 50,000 permanent residents, had 19 million visitors in 2019.
However, it is reported that over three-quarters of the people who visit do so for only a day.
But the new tourist tax isn't the city heading in a new direction as the city already taxes guests who stay overnight from one to five euros (0.80p to £4.30).
Any guests paying that will be exempt from the day fee.
On top of that, Venice also banned cruise ships from lining the city last summer in order to protect its World Heritage Site status.
Tourism commissioner Simone Venturini told a news conference yesterday: “We won’t talk about number cutoffs. We’re talking about incentives and disincentives.”
Venturini branded the new measure a "great revolution," and a solution to the issue of the overtourism problem that the lagoon city has been struggling with for decades.
They went on to say that the new system would be “simple for visitors” and act to reduce frictions between day visitors and residents.
Local newspaper Corriere dell Sera came out in favour of the announcement, comparing the historic city to Disneyland.
Earlier this year Venturini told RAI, the state TV network, that the pandemic had made the city authorities reconsider tourism and its relationship to the city.
"Covid made us realize that what was an everyday occurrence before Covid isn't acceptable anymore -- the mentality has changed, as has the sensitivity [towards crowds]," he said.
He added that the system would "give us the chance to know how many people are predicted for that day, and to calibrate services according to the number."
