In a world first, Venice will try out day tickets

ROME – Venice will start charging entrance fees for day trippers this week, a world first aimed at easing pressure on the Italian city that is drowning under the weight of mass tourism. On Thursday, a public holiday in Italy, day visitors will for the first time have to buy a five-euro ($5.3) ticket, overseen by inspectors carrying out spot checks at key points in the UNESCO World Heritage Site. Venice is one of the world’s top tourist destinations, with 3.2 million visitors staying overnight in its historic center in 2022, dwarfed by its population of just 50,000. Tens of thousands of people pour into the city’s narrow streets that day, often from cruise ships, to see sights such as St. Mark’s Square and the Rialto Bridge. The aim of the tickets is to convince day trippers to come during quieter periods, to try to thin out the worst of the crowds. Initially, tickets will only be required on 29 busy days in 2024, mainly weekends from May to July. But the plan is under close scrutiny as tourism destinations around the world grapple with rising visitor numbers, which boost local economies but risk overwhelming communities and damaging fragile ecosystems and historic sites. In Spain, the world’s most visited country after France, tens of thousands of people protested in the Canary Islands on Saturday to demand limits on the number of visitors to the archipelago. Luigi Brugnaro, the mayor of Venice, has described the city’s plan as “an experiment, and the first time it has been implemented anywhere in the world.” “Our goal is to make Venice more liveable,” he told reporters earlier this month. Spread over more than 100 small islands and islets in northeastern Italy, Venice is considered one of the most beautiful cities in the world. The UN cultural organization, UNESCO, inscribed the city and its lagoon as a World Heritage Site in 1987, calling it an “extraordinary architectural masterpiece.” But UNESCO last year threatened to put Venice on the list of endangered heritage, citing mass tourism and rising water levels blamed on climate change. Venice only escaped shame after local authorities agreed to the new ticketing system. The idea had long been debated, but was repeatedly postponed because it would seriously affect tourist revenues and endanger freedom of movement. During a debate on the plan last September, opposition councilors called the measure a hastily arranged concession to UNESCO that would have no impact. “Fifty euros might have done something,” said Gianfranco Bettin. In 2021, Venice had already banned huge cruise ships that carry thousands of day trippers every day, diverting them to a more distant industrial port. It has also introduced a tax on overnight visitors. Venice’s mayor has promised that the new system will be introduced with a light touch, with “very soft controls” and “without queues”, dismissing speculation that the city would install barriers or turnstiles in the streets.