In 2024, Venice will trial a five-euro fee for tourists visiting the city for a single day, a victim of mass tourism and at risk of being included on UNESCO’s list of endangered heritage sites.
This tax to be paid online will only cover a maximum of 30 days when the number of tourists is traditionally higher, that is, spring and summer long weekends.
The calendar of the days in question will be published later, with minors under 14 years of age and tourists who spend at least one night there being exempt from this tax.
“It is a first step (…) We are carrying out an experiment,” highlighted the mayor, Luigi Brugnaro, guaranteeing that the “system will be easy to use.”
The ‘green light’ for this measure comes at a time when the United Nations Educational, Scientific and Cultural Organization (UNESCO) recommended, at the end of July, including the ‘City of Canals’ in the list of world heritage sites in danger. considering that Italy has so far taken “insufficient” measures to combat the deterioration of the site.
Rising sea levels and other “extreme climate events” related to global warming “threaten the integrity” of the site, UNESCO warned.
The timing of the vote on this tax could not be more opportune for Venice, which has been postponing for years the adoption of drastic measures, in particular the application of mandatory reservations and a limit on the number of entries to the city, which welcomes millions of tourists in the saturated historic center.
The local opposition did not fail to highlight the sudden rush towards this measure, to “prove to UNESCO” that something is being done.
UNESCO also noted “the absence of a common global strategic vision” and the “low efficiency and coordination” of Italian local and national authorities.
Venice, an island city founded in the 5th century and which became a great maritime power in the 10th century, extends over 118 islets, according to UNESCO, and was declared a World Heritage Site in 1987.
‘La Serenissima’ is one of the most visited cities in the world, with 100,000 tourists spending the night in Venice at the peak of tourism, plus tens of thousands of daily visitors.
In addition to mass tourism, Venice and its lagoon suffer from high tides that periodically flood St. Mark’s Square and weaken the foundations of its buildings.
Source: TSF
