Venice Imposes €5 Day-Trip Tax to Curb Crowds
From this month onwards, visitors to Venice who are staying for only one day will be required to pay a mandatory fee of 5 euros, according to euronews.ro.
The city has also introduced a cap on the number of tourists allowed entry each day, set at a maximum of 40,000. This new regulation necessitates online booking in advance [of a visit].
The Mayor of Venice has positioned this new tax as one of several measures intended to safeguard the city during peak tourist seasons, a time when Venice is especially vulnerable to overcrowding and pollution. The Mayor has emphatically denied any intention of transforming Venice into a restricted zone, assuring visitors that the city will remain open. However, authorities have warned that those who fail to pay the tax will face fines at least five times the amount of the tax itself.
Michele Zuin, the city's budget advisor, has outlined the enforcement strategy. "We will be conducting some checks," Zuin explained, "but these will be unobtrusive controls. There will be no physical barriers to prevent tourists from entering Venice at key points of arrival, such as the train station and Piazzale Roma. Instead, we will implement random checks at these arrival points. Our goal is to avoid causing inconvenience to visitors or creating long queues. Nonetheless, these checks are necessary to ensure fairness for those who have already paid the fee. There is an administrative fine in place for those who do not pay the tax, ranging from 50 to 300 euros, on top of a 10 euro entrance fee."
Verification Procedures for Tourists
The Mayor has announced that municipal staff have received training to verify the documentation of visitors who are not staying at hotels in Venice. This verification process will involve checking for either a QR code confirming payment of the tax or documentation proving exemption, which may be required for those entering the city for work, school, or medical reasons. For visitors who lack smartphones, designated payment points will be established throughout the city.
Luigi Brugnaro, the Mayor of Venice, has emphasised the rationale behind these new measures. "Our primary objective," Brugnaro explained, "is to establish a predictable system for managing visitor flow and to raise awareness among day-trippers about the challenges Venice faces. Hotel guests are already accounted for within the city's management system and will not be subject to this new requirement. Day-trippers, on the other hand, will now have the ability to access real-time information regarding current visitor numbers in Venice. This will allow them to make informed decisions about whether visiting on a particular day is suitable, especially if they are travelling with children. In essence, this is a straightforward system designed to improve overall visitor experience."
Officials have underscored that the program's goals are to alleviate overcrowding during peak season, promote extended stays for visitors, and ultimately enhance the quality of life for Venetian residents. To ensure a smooth implementation, Venice has launched a series of public awareness campaigns, featuring video messages delivered by the Mayor himself in multiple international languages, to inform visitors about this new obligation.
Translation by Iurie Tataru
