Venice reveals dates for 2024 when it will start charging tourist entry fees. The Venice City Council released a schedule of dates during which day trippers will have to pay a fee to enter the city.
Tourist Entry Fee
Venice Reveals Dates for 2024 When It Will Srart Charging Tourist Entry Fee
Italy’s’ famous and beloved floating city has always required a tad bit extra effort to visit, whether it’s by air, boat, bus, or train, and starting from spring, 2024, it will also require a bit more extra cash as Venice will be charging tourist entry fee from then. This past fall, Venice City Council approved the 5-euro tourist entry fee for day visitors. On November 23, the city unveiled the exact 29 days during 2024 when day trippers will be asked to pay a fee to enter the city.
Venice 2024 Tourist Entry Fee
Venice 2023 Tourist Entry Fee will be applicable on the following dates:
- April 25 to 30
- May 1 to 5, 11 to 12, 18 to 19, 25 to 26
- June 8 to 9, 15 to 16, 22 to 23, 29 to 30
- July 6 to 7, 13 to 14
On the dates mentioned above a tourist entry fee of 5 euro will be charged to those above the age of 14, wishing to visit the country. Individuals who will be exempt from this charge are residents, students attending university in Venice, property owners, and employees who work in the city. Moreover, hotel guests already paying the pre-night tourist tax will also be exempted from this tourist entry fee. They will however still need to register in advance online or get a QR code from the hotel they will be staying at.
To pay the tourist entry fee, day visitors will have to visit and log on at http://cda.ve.it. There they will obtain a QR code that they can show to the authorities in the event of checks. According to the Venice City Council, this QR code will certify the payment of the fee or the condition of exemption or exclusion and must be kept with you at all times.
Charging Tourist Entry Fee to Curb Over tourism
On September 12, 2023, during a council meeting, the city mayor, Luigi Brugnaro stated:
“We need to show to the world that, for the first time, something is being done for Venice,”
In this statement “something” means a ticketed pilot program to gauge the logistics as well as the effect of a tourist entry ticket in hopes that it can ameliorate the issues Venice is facing with over-tourism.
This entry ticket policy was approved after more than two years of talks, debate, postponing, and a UNESCO recommendation to add the floating city to the List of World Heritage in Danger. On the 14th of September, Venice was spared from UNESCO’s so-called endangered list in which are listed about 55 locations that face major threats like climate change, war, natural disasters, and unchecked tourism. Although this time Venice was spared from this, it is not the first time that the city has had its UNESCO-protected status threatened.
Ever since the beginning of the 21st century, the Floating City has experienced a steady rise in tourism. In 2019 tourism in Venice shattered all records while results show that 2023 might even surpass the record set in 2019. According to the City of Venice and Italy’s National Statistics Association also known as ISTAT, approximately 13 million people made their way to Venice, drastically overshadowing the floating city’s 49,665 residents.
However, the number comes as no shock as the city has always been overrun with tourists. To curb tourism in 2021 residents, environmentalists and Venice lovers engaged in a very vocal protest which resulted in the government banning large cruise ships from Venice’s historic center. However, that did not deter crowds from piling up during the daytime. Addressing the over-tourism issue and the tourist entry fee that is to be imposed in the coming year, Venice culinary guide, Monica Cesarato said:
“Venice is so much more: its artisans, its food, its museums, its art, its music, its boats, and endless other marvelous things,”
“I truly believe that the way to reduce the number of tourists is by educating people, not by taxing them.”
Added Cesarato, “Nowadays people come to Venice only to take a selfie and add a tick to their bucket list. We need to educate people by using the tools we have, like social media, to research the city before coming. Once people realize how much can be done in Venice and that one or two days are not enough to discover all the incredible things that can be experienced here, then people will want to stay more, and the number of day-trippers will go down.”
When the tourist entry fee goes into effect, it won’t offer a solution for the years-long buildup of residents’ frustration. Moreover, it has also opened doors to questions like whether there will be a limit on the number of reservations per day or not or if this tactic will be helpful in curbing tourism. Deputy Mayor Simone Venturini stated in an email:
“We [are] . . . aware of the urgency of finding a new balance between the rights of those who live, study, or work in Venice and those who visit the city,”
“This is why, at certain times and on certain days, innovative flow management is required, capable of putting a brake on day-to-day tourism.”
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