Venice, Italy, has introduced an entrance fee for day-trippers to manage overtourism on its busiest days. The fee is intended to reduce congestion in historic cities and preserve vulnerable archaeological sites. This includes visitors from cruise ships.
Venice’s new strategy against overtourism
Venice has introduced an entrance fee for tourists visiting the city on certain high-traffic days from April 25, 2024, with the aim of easing overtourism. This fee applies to all day visitors, including cruise ship passengers, with the exception of exempt persons such as local residents, minors under 14, and overnight cruise passengers.
Tourists must register online to obtain a QR code and pay 5 euros. This initiative is part of a broader strategy to encourage visits during less crowded times and ensure the protection of Venice’s cultural heritage as a World UNESCO Heritage Site.
However, there is no limit to the number of people who can access the city in a day. Venice sees a surge of 30,000 to 40,000 tourists each day from spring to summer. Most of the traffic arrives at the main island, Centro Storico, which nearly doubles the island’s population and covers just over one square mile.
“The whole world wants to visit Venice and this is an honor for us. But not everyone around the world can travel on exactly the same day,” said the city’s tourism councilor Simone Venturini he told CBS News.
Venice introduces an entrance fee for day visitors (Photo by Oleg Senkov)
This rate does not apply to travelers from late afternoon until the next morning, providing flexibility for travelers arriving or departing during off-peak hours. However, this fee will affect cruise passengers arriving on her day on ships calling in the region.
Understanding how tourism fees impact cruise passengers
Venice access fees apply from 8:30 a.m. to 4:00 p.m. on the indicated 29th day of 2024. These are peak times when ships are in port and passengers are coming ashore for sightseeing.
Passengers arriving between April 25th and May 5th. May 11th and 12th, 18th and 19th, 25th and 26th. June 8th and 9th, 15th and 16th, 22nd and 23rd, 29th and 30th. On July 6th he will have to pay €5.00 per person on the 7th, 13th and 14th.
The exemption applies to cruise passengers embarking or disembarking in Venice who have a certificate of overnight accommodation, persons with disabilities and their companions.
The first cruises scheduled to arrive on the specified dates will be MSC Cruises’ MSC Sinfonia and MSC Lyrica, each weighing just over 65,000 tonnes, which will call in port on April 27.
MSC Lirica Venice
Sinfonia accommodates 2,646 passengers and 721 crew members, many of whom also go ashore during calls. MSC Lyrica will accommodate up to 1,984 passengers and her 721 crew members. If all participants on a full cruise disembark on the same day, the access fee will cost her 23,150 euros.
Related article: Norwegian cruise line withdraws from major ports over bidding concerns
The introduction of this fee has received mixed reactions, with many arguing that it will not significantly deter tourists from visiting the city. Demonstrators claim that pricing without limits on the number of visitors will turn Venice into a “theme park”. After the toll went into effect, residents marched through Venice’s main bus terminals and entrances holding banners that read: “No to tickets, yes to services and housing.”
This isn’t the first time Venice has made major adjustments that affect cruises. In August 2021, the city issued a ban specifically suspending vessels over 25,000 gross tons, over 180 meters in length, and over 35 meters in height from their historic city center berths.
This regulation affected a wide range of cruise lines, particularly Norwegian Cruise Line, MSC Cruises, and Royal Caribbean. The ban forced cruise lines’ large ships to head to the nearby port of Marghera.
