Mass tourism: Venice has begun selling tickets to enter the city

A few months ago, despite the recommendations of UNESCO, Italy's most romantic city avoided being listed as a World Heritage in Danger. Ultimately, Venice relies on taxes to combat tourism.

The Venice municipality on Tuesday began selling five-euro entry tickets, a spring and summer tax imposed on day-trippers in the city of Doge, a victim of mass tourism.

For a total of 29 days from April 25 to July 14, the peak tourist season, day tourists must purchase this ticket to enter the Old City between 8:30 am and 4 pm local time. A ticket buying platform has been set up reality This Tuesday.

However, several exemptions are granted, particularly for those under the age of 14, students or members of the police. No limit on the number of visitors is envisaged under the scheme, which was approved last year.

The plan, announced in September, aims to prevent day visitors from contributing to congestion in the city, which has been a UNESCO World Heritage Site since 1987 and is known worldwide for its works of art, its bridges and canals. .

First in the world

“Venice is the first city in the world to implement this method, which must be preserved as an example for other fragile cities (…),” its mayor Luigi Brugnaro announced in November, as the municipality made the dates public. This tax application.

“This is not a revolution, but the first step of a system that regulates the access of day visitors”, explained Luigi Brugnaro, noting that the objective is “the quality of life in the city”.

In mid-September, Venice narrowly escaped being listed as an endangered UNESCO World Heritage Site. However, UNESCO experts recommended Venice's “at risk” classification at the end of July, a jewel threatened by overtourism and global warming due to “adequate” measures taken in Italy to combat the site's deterioration.