Demonstrators try to break through the blockade created by police officers to enter the city at Piazzale Roma, opposing the charge for tourists to enter the city on April 25, 2024 in Venice, Italy. Today Venice authorities launched a pilot program charging visitors a 5-euro entry fee in the hope that it will discourage at peak time, making the city more livable for its residents.
Stefano Mazzola | Getty Images News | Getty Images
Venice isn’t only sinking, it’s shrinking. In the 1970s, there were about 175,000 residents in Centro Storico, the main island and historic center of Venice. As of last year, that number was below 50,000. What has been growing steadily is tourism, which due to economic and quality-of-life pressure, has been pushing out residents. In fact, there are now more tourist beds in Venice than there are residents. Last year, 20 million people visited, winding their way through its two square miles.
Last week, Venice took action on overtourism, introducing a 5€ fee to day trippers who want to access the city. The aim, Venice’s Mayor Luigi Brugnaro said in a press conference, “is not to close the city, but not let it explode.”
The program, officially launched on April 25 — a historically significant day, as it is both Italy’s Liberation Day and the feast day of the city’s patron saint, St. Mark — took the mayor’s words in a direction he hadn’t intended, with roughly a thousand protestors gathered in Piazzale Roma to oppose the measure, ultimately clashing with police in riot gear.
Residents voiced a range of concerns despite the measure being designed in part to help make their city more livable. They objected to the idea of living in a closed city. Some argued that selling tickets reduces their city to an amusement park — Veniceland. There’s also a central irony, critics say, in a government that at the same time is considering multiple ways to increase tourism, from weighing the idea of cruise ships returning to the lagoon to relaxation of limits on Airbnbs.
A once-in-a-lifetime destination for many travelers from around the world, the most important criticism may be that the cost is unlikely to deter anyone from visiting the city.
“Almost the entire city is against it,” Matteo Secchi, leader of a residents’ activist group, told the Guardian. “You can’t impose an entrance fee to a city; all they’re doing is transforming it into a theme park. … I mean, are we joking?”
On the first day of its implementation, according to data from the mayor’s office, 113,000 people registered, and of those 16,000 paid the fee — others were exempt for various reasons, including hotel stays, being a commuter, a student, or visiting family or friends.
Tourists stand in front of Santa Lucia train station in Venice as they wait to pass controls and buy the five-euro ticket to enter the historic city center on April 25, 2024.
Marco Bertorello | Afp | Getty Images
Despite its many detractors, the day fee is a significant move on the part…
Read More: With Venice ‘theme park’ entrance fee, overtourism hits tipping point
