The five-euro entrance fee applies to tourists coming to visit Venice for the day.
April 25 was the first day that day tourists coming to the historic center of Venice had to pay an entrance fee. Kyodonews, ZumaWire / MVPHOTOS
Italy’s Venice has decided to implement a five-euro entrance fee for day visitors. The city strives to reduce the harm caused to it by tourism. British media The Guardian reported on the matter.
The purpose of the fee is to protect Venice, classified as a UNESCO World Heritage Site, from the effects of excessive tourism by driving away day-trippers.
The mayor of the city Luigi Brugnaron according to the decision, the city will become viable again.
According to the Guardian, several residents of the city are against the decision. Venetian activist Matteo Secchi considers the decision bad.
– You cannot impose an entrance fee to the city. All they achieve is that they turn the city into a theme park, Secchi commented to the Guardian.
The decision concerns the historic center of Venice. The entrance fee is now in the pilot phase, during which the entrance fee applies to the 29 most popular tourist days of the summer season. Most of these days fall on weekends from mid-July.
The threat of a fine
The entrance fee must be paid as an online payment for 24-hour visits.
For those day visitors who do not have an entrance ticket purchased online, there is also the possibility to buy one on the spot upon arrival, one of these is the Santa Lucia train station.
The Venetian authorities carry out random checks at the points of arrival, and those without a ticket face a fine of 50-300 euros.
According to the Venice city council, 5,500 people had booked a ticket to enter the city on Italy’s national holiday on April 25. The day in question was the first of its kind when you had to buy an entrance ticket to the city.
The Guardian says that the first day with an entrance ticket brought 27,500 euros to the city’s coffers. Although Mayor Brugnaro has denied that monetary benefits are the city’s goal, he has also promised to reduce taxes for local residents if the new experiment pays off.
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