Venice Introduces Daily Fee for Visitors to Combat Overtourism
Local protests broke out over the plan, which had been years in the making.
An information board near Santa Lucia train station on April 24 in Venice on the eve of the start of the official trial of the city's booking system for day-trippers.
Photographer: Marco Bertorello/AFP via Getty Images
Venice, long plagued by what some observers have described as overtourism, introduced a new fee for day trippers, a world first that’s likely to become a closely watched experiment as cities grapple with how to balance the wants and needs of tourists and residents.
Visitors who do not live, work or study in Venice will have to start paying a 5 euro ($5.34) fee on Thursday, for a total of 29 select days, mostly weekends, until mid-July, from 8:30 a.m. to 4 p.m. Those who stay in hotels or registered accommodation overnight won’t have to pay, Venice Mayor Luigi Brugnaro said.