Venice on your Euro trip 2023 itinerary? You’ll want to add its new entrance fee into your trip planning budget. This week, the Italian city became the first in the world to announce a tourist fee. Not only that, but you’ll also need to make a reservation for the date you plan to visit.
From January 16, 2023, visitors to Venice will have to pay between three to 10 euros to enter. The rate will vary depending on the number of visitors — the more entry requests on that particular day, the more expensive the rate will be.
Venice’s councillor for tourism, Simone Venturini, called the new measure a “great revolution”, as well as a solution for the overtourism problem the city has been struggling with for decades, as per CNN.
Venturini said the goal wasn’t to “close the city”, but to get people to book ahead to reduce “tourist peaks”. “Venice is a living city and it has to stay that way,” he said.
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The ticket booking system will be unveiled in a couple months’ time, and will only need to be used by daytrippers to Venice. Overnight hotel guests will already be paying a tourist tax through their hotel. Also exempt from paying the fee are Venice residents, homeowners, those visiting for health reasons or to see relatives, those coming for a sporting or cultural event, disabled visitors and visiting kids under the age of six.
The entrance fee will apply to the Venice historic centre and islands Lido di Venezia, Pellestrina, Murano, Burano, Torcello, Sant’Erasmo, Mazzorbo, Mazzorbetto, Vignole, S. Andrea, La Certosa, S. Servolo, S. Clemente and Poveglia. If you’re found not to have booked and paid, fines will range from 50 to 300 euros.
“It is not a system to make cash but to manage tourist flows,” said Michele Zuin, councillor for the budget. “The proceeds from the entrance fee will go to lowering the taxes of Venetians, which are already very high due to the large volume of tourists that need to be accommodated.”
Tourism is one of Venice’s main industries. It’s said approximately 20 million tourists visit every year, and that 80% of them come for only a day, reports Bloomberg.
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