Venice is about to become the first city in the world to charge tourists an entrance fee.
Day-trippers will have to pay between 3 and 10 on quiet days and 10 on busy days in order to enter Venice.
Simone Venturini, Venice's councilor for tourism, said on Saturday that the new entry system would help the Italian city tackle its overtourism problem.
There are 6 day trips from Venice.
Venice has a longstanding problem with overtourism as visitors pile in faster than the city can cope with. Venice's struggle with overtourism reached a crisis point in the lead up to the Pandemic, with the city recording 30 million visitors in 2019.
A new booking system to regulate the number of people in the city is one of the measures being looked at.
People will have to book a trip to Venice in advance. Visitors will receive a code that can be scanned at the electric gates at Venice's main access points after booking.
Day-trippers who don't stay overnight will have to pay a fee of up to 10 at peak times. During the off-season, it will be around 6 ($6.80), but on quiet days it could be as low as 3 ($3.13).
For the first time in 500 years, one of Venice's most famous landmarks is open to the public.
People who book will get discounts on museums. The access fee will be determined by the number of visitors a day.
Pre-booking is required for day-trippers who are not staying in Venice overnight. People who stay at least one night in a local hotel will not have to pay an entrance fee. People with disabilities and people visiting the city for health reasons are exempt.
The entrance fee is part of a system that tracks the movements of people in Venice. The council installed cameras, sensors, and mobile phone data in the city to keep track of visitor numbers.
If crowds start to build up in one tourist spot, authorities can temporarily restrict access until the crowds ease, so that they don't block pedestrians. The tracking system gives officials a better idea of how many people are passing through and how busy the area will be in the future. They insist it was done in a respectful way.
Venice has a plan to make it easier to get around.
In April of last year, Venice banned cruise ships from the historic city center after UNESCO warned about the damage done by a steady stream of ships.
The article was first published about four hours ago.
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