The new daytripper tax scheme in Venice which will run for 30 days initially as a trial, is designed to reduce over tourism in the city, which some fear is literally and figuratively being eroding away
Locals have complained that Venice has become a ‘theme park’ after a tax designed to control overtourism kicked into force.
This week, after several lengthy delays, the Queen of the Adriatic will start to charge visitors to the city €5 (£4.30) per person, per day. The scheme, which will run for 30 days initially as a trial, is designed to reduce over tourism in the city, which some fear is literally and figuratively being eroded away.
Those running Venice have long argued that measures must be taken to protect the city and its way of life from the millions of people desperate to bask in its beauty each year. Luigi Brugnaro, Venice’s mayor, said the tax would make Venice “liveable” again.
However, the introduction of the tax has not been met positively from all quarters. A number of protests are planned for today (Thursday) by those who question the means of controlling the crowds.
Matteo Secchi, who leads residents activist group Venessia.com, told The Guardian: “I can tell you that almost the entire city is against it. You can’t impose an entrance fee to a city; all they’re doing is transforming it into a theme park. This is a bad image for Venice … I mean, are we joking?”
Over recent decades the city has changed drastically. The strength of cheap, mass budget airlines saw 25 million tourists visit in 2019, with that number projected to reach 38 million by 2025. In less than a century the local population has dropped from 150,000 to 50,000 as old families struggling to pay their bills move to the mainland and let their properties to visitors.
After the trial period, the fee is likely to apply on various days across the high season. It is not expected to turn a profit, but simply to cover the cost of the booking system. The tax is required only for access to Venice’s historic centre and can be booked online.
The trial will run until July 14 and apply only on 29 peak days, most of which are weekends. Residents, commuters, students and children under the age of 14 are exempt. Tourists who stay overnight – who have to pay a different tax to sleep in the city – are exempt.
Day trippers must book the ticket online to receive a QR code, which may be scanned by officials making random spot-checks at five main arrival points including Santa Lucia train station. Those without a ticket risk fines of up to €300. On April 25 – a national holiday in Italy – 5,500 visitors booked a ticket, bringing in €27,500, the council has said.
Federica Toninello, who leads an association for housing, said that the tax was not enough to deter people and that it is not addressing the real issue anyway. “But day trippers aren’t the issue; things like the shortage of affordable housing are … What we need are policies to help residents, for example, making rules to limit things like Airbnb,” he told the Guardian.
Emanuele Dal Carlo, who was lucky enough to be born in Venice, recently told the Mirror how seeing what had happened to his birth city and how much of an issue housing was had inspired him to launch an ethical holiday let company.
While Venice may be breaking new ground with the cost and type of its new entrance fee, many other countries and cities around the world already have tourist taxes in place.
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