Venice's new measures to curb day visitors

MILAN

Day-trippers to the fabled canal city of Venice who fail to pay 5 euros ($5.43) to enter the lagoon city’s historic center during a time-limited pilot program launching later this month will face fines starting at 10 times the entrance fee, officials said on March 4.

Venice announced last year it would launch the long-discussed day-tripper fee after the city escaped being placed on the U.N. agency’s list of endangered heritage sites, due largely to the impact of overtourism. Officials have avoided calling it a tax and have downplayed the possibility of waits to enter the city, emphasizing there will be no turnstiles or physical barriers.

But during a press briefing, Mayor Luigi Brugnaro suggested lines could form at the official entry points, and used the word tax to describe the fee.

Brugnaro said personnel have been trained to verify that tourists who are not staying in Venice have either a QR code confirming payment of the fee or an exemption voucher. Exemptions will be issued for a variety of reasons, including work, school or medical care, as well as to people born in Venice, and residents of the Veneto region.

Brugnaro said that anyone found beyond designated control points without the required documentation will be subject to fines. These will range from 50 to 300 euros (from around $55 to $326), plus the maximum entrance fee allowed by law, set at 10 euros (nearly $11).

Visitors will be subject to random, not systematic, checks, he said.

Officials have emphasized that the program aims to reduce crowds on peak days, encourage longer visits and improve the quality of life for residents.

Venice’s islands, including glass-making Murano, are also outside the pilot program, which is being tested on 29 days, starting with an Italian national holiday on April 25 through mid-July, including most weekends, from 8:30 a.m. to 4 p.m. 

The pandemic delayed Venice’s plans to launch the day-tripper tax, which has become a keystone of the city’s attempts to deal with overtourism. UNESCO cited the plan when it decided not to include the city on the list of endangered world heritage sites last September, a tarnish that it similarly avoided two years earlier with the cruise ship ban through St. Mark's Basin and the Giudecca Canal.