Ticket offices are in place, inspectors are ready — Venice will launch a new system Thursday that will charge day-trippers who want to enter the historic Italian city. This is the world’s first system aimed at easing the pressures of mass tourism.
Visitors entering the UNESCO World Heritage Site for the day will need to purchase a 5 euro ($5.30) ticket, and inspectors will carry out surprise checks at key entry points.
Considered one of the most beautiful cities on earth, Venice is one of the world’s top tourist destinations, but it is sinking under the weight of congestion.
The pilot scheme aims to persuade day-trippers to visit during quieter times, with so-called access fee tickets available only on busy 29th days throughout 2024 (mainly weekends from May to July). It becomes necessary.
“The aim is to find a new balance between tourism and the city of its inhabitants,” Simone Venturini, the local councilor responsible for tourism, told AFP.
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“We have to strive to reduce the impact of daily tourism on any given day… (which) creates stress in the city,” he said.
The plan comes as destinations around the world grapple with huge numbers of tourists, who while boosting local economies can also overwhelm local communities and damage fragile ecosystems and historic sites. There is a risk of damage.
Spread over more than 100 small islands in northeastern Italy, Venice was declared a UNESCO World Heritage Site in 1987.
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But the number of people coming to experience what the United Nations cultural agency calls an “extraordinary architectural masterpiece” is widely thought to be unsustainable.
At peak times, 100,000 tourists stay overnight in Venice’s historic center, double the resident population of just 50,000.
Throughout the day, tens of thousands more people stream from cruise ships onto the city’s narrow streets to see sights such as St. Mark’s Square and the Rialto Bridge.
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Last year, UNESCO threatened to put Venice on its list of heritage sites in danger, citing rising lagoon water levels due to mass tourism and climate change.
Venice only escaped disgrace after local authorities agreed to a new ticketing system.
The idea has been discussed for a long time, but repeatedly postponed over concerns it would significantly reduce tourism receipts and undermine freedom of movement.
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Ashish Thakkar, an American tourist who visited with his wife on Wednesday, wondered how effective the day pass would be.
“If you’re coming all the way from abroad, you don’t mind paying 5 euros just to get into the city,” he told AFP.
“I don’t think there’s a big difference.”
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Venturini hopes the initiative will persuade Italians living in the area not to come on busy days such as Thursday, when Italy marks the anniversary of its liberation from World War II.
Venice had already banned large cruise ships in 2021, which carry thousands of day-trippers each day, and rerouted them to more distant industrial ports.
Venice Mayor Luigi Brugnaro admitted the tickets were an “experiment”, but authorities were not entirely sure what the system would produce.
Earlier this month, Brugnaro told reporters the new system would be monitored with “very soft controls” and “no queues.”
Visitors are encouraged to purchase tickets online in advance, but may also purchase upon arrival.
A new ticket office has been installed in the square in front of Santa Lucia train station, the main entrance to the city.
Officers will carry out surprise inspections in key areas, and fines range from 50 to 300 euros ($53 to $320).
Tourists who are staying in Venice and have already paid the lodging tax for benefits, as well as travelers arriving between 4pm and 8:30am, minors under 14 years of age, and persons with disabilities. Exempted from purchasing new tickets.
At this time, there is no limit to the number of same-day tickets. Please download it in the form of a QR code from the website (https://cda.ve.it/en/).
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