Venice introduced this week a new tourist tax, with the stated aim of helping protect the historic Italian lagoon.
The new £4.29 (€5) fee needs to be paid by daytrippers not staying overnight in the area to gain access to Venice’s central and most beautiful areas.
Residents and people who need to travel to Venice for work, health or study purposes are not required to pay the fee but, much like tourists staying in the area for multiple days, need to either have a valid document or download a QR code from the scheme’s official website stating they are exempted.
Failure to pay or prove exemption can lead to massive fines, ranging from £42 (€50) to £257 (€300), to which will be added the cost of the tax.
Mayor Luigi Brugnaro said of the fee in a video released ahead of its launch: “Venice is a fragile city, an ancient city with 1600 years of history, it has an extremely delicate balance, and we need to protect it.”
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Speaking about the new tax, he added: “We are doing this with great humility, with the desire to show we can move from words to action.”
The entry ticket will be required only for a total of 29 days between April 25 and mid-July, when the largest crowds are expected to arrive.
The Venetian government has mulled over the introduction of a similar tax for months, as it struggles to manage the city’s worldwide popularity with the needs of its residents and the strained infrastructure and services.
While this fee has been announced as a measure to help manage the number of tourists reaching Venice, some locals believe it will do little to deter daytrippers.
Rather, some protesters said on April 25 as they came together in a demonstration against the tax, it damages the name of Venice and turns the city into a “theme park” where entry tickets are required.
What do you think? Would you pay an entry ticket to visit Venice, or is this tax deterring you from seeing the lagoon? Let us know in the poll above and the comments below.
