Venice has rolled out a tourism tax to try to stop overcowding on peak weekends.
Last November, Venice authorities unveiled a pilot program for their long-mooted plan to charge day-trippers to visit the city.
Today (25 April) the pilot programme has finally come into force.
Signs advising arriving visitors of the new €5 fee for a test phase of 29 days through July have been erected outside the main train station and other points of arrival.
Some 200 stewards have been trained to politely walk anyone unaware of the fee through the process of downloading a QR code. A kiosk has been set up for those not equipped with a smartphone. Once past designated entry ports, officials will carry out random checks for QR codes that show the day-tripper tax has been paid or that the bearer is exempt.
Transgressors face fines of between €50 and €300. The requirement applies only for people arriving between 8.30 am and 4 pm. Outside of those hours, access is free.
Tourists can book tickets and get their QR code via the online payment platform, which went live on 16 January.
The entry fee aims to reduce crowds, encourage longer visits and improve quality of life for residents.
Here’s everything you need to know about what you have to pay and why.
Why is Venice introducing a tourist tax?
The rollout of the tourist tax comes after Venice narrowly escaped being placed on UNESCO’s danger list last year because of the damage from overtourism on its delicate ecosystem.
Member states cited the proposed new entry fee in deciding to spare Venice from the list.
Venice mayor Luigi Brugnaro said that the fee is not an attempt to bring in extra revenue. Rather, it is a ‘first-of-its-kind experiment’ to regulate tourist flows in one of the world’s most-visited places.
The aim of the charge is to incentivise visitors to avoid high-traffic periods and come on other days.
“Our attempt is to make a more liveable city,” he said at a news conference outlining the pilot program.
The city is strained when the number of day-trippers reaches 30,000 to 40,000, according to the city’s top tourism official, Simone Venturini. Its narrow alleyways are clogged with people and water taxis packed, making it difficult for residents to go about their business.
“We need to find a new balance between the tourists and residents,’’ he said. “We need to safeguard the spaces of the residents, of course, and we need to discourage the arrival of day-trippers on some particular days.”
source: euronews