A trip to the already pricey city of Venice, Italy, will now leave your wallet even emptier than before. Venetian officials have announced plans to charge day visitors up to $11 (€10) to enter.
Currently, the Italian city’s tourist tax only applies to those spending the night.
But as Venice sees visitor numbers soar ever higher and streets become ever busier, government measures to combat over-tourism are toughening.
Over the busy May Day weekend, the local government restricted the movement of visitorsand implemented moves to separate the tourists and locals wandering the city center.
This new law is the latest — and arguably the most extreme — measure designed to handle the nearly 30 million tourists who visit Venice each year.
Extreme measures
Venetian mayor Luigi Brugnaro announced the tourist tax in a video posted on Twitter.
“From today, the disembarking tax in the historical center of Venice is law,” said Brugnaro.
“This will help us to better manage the city, keep it clean, and offer visitors better services.”
The mayor added that the introduction of the measure would see Venetian living conditions improve.
How much you get charged for your day trip will likely vary depending on the time of year.
Local reaction
Local Marco Malafante, who manages luxury vacation rentals in the city, says he agrees with the move.
“As a Venetian I often found myself stuck in crowded lanes. Venice is engulfed by tourists and we have to reduce the day trippers in favor of a more qualified, let’s call it ‘luxury’ tourism. The alternative is simply that we all are uncomfortable in Venice.”
But a Venetian gondolier, who says his name is Cuba, tells CNN he’s not convinced the move addresses the real problems associated with overtourism in Venice.
“Entering Venice will be like entering into a museum, I don’t think the measure will help the problem of transforming Venice into a Disneyland, with fake glass shops and piazza sellers replacing the old ‘bottega’ or artisan shops,” he says.
