Venice has fallen victim to its own success. The residents have had enough. The city has taken a serious approach to limiting tourist traffic. It has already introduced a €5 fee for tourists who want to enter Venice for a day. Now, guides are not allowed to use megaphones, and one group of tourists cannot exceed 25 people.
It had to be done. “All Venetians agree it's good. Even the shop owners,” says Cristiana Corro, a resident of Venice.
Venice, despite its charm, monuments, lagoons, has become a nightmare for tourists and its residents in recent years. “It's very, very crowded in many places. So much so that it's hard to even get through. Yesterday we were in St. Mark's Basilica and there were huge queues to get in. I think it's time to deal with it,” says Mark Kerr, a tourist from Scotland.
“Tourism in Venice has driven 72 percent of its residents to the outskirts”
Venice is becoming increasingly difficult to visit and live in. “Tourism in Venice has driven 72 percent of its residents to the outskirts over the past 70 years. The entire industry needs to be rethought to support the local community,” says Sebastian Fagarazzi, co-founder of the travel company Venezia Autentica.
Since August 1, the city has banned tour guides from using megaphones and has limited the number of people in one group to a maximum of 25. Fines for breaking the rules range from 25 to 500 euros.
– The task of the city authorities is to improve the quality of group tourism in Venice and to limit the effects of the excessive influx of walking groups. This problem has a direct impact on the quality of life of residents and employees – emphasizes Simone Venturini from the Venice Municipal Office for Tourism.
Almost 14 million tourists visit Venice every year, and every day 100,000 people squeeze through its narrow streets.
– They could make the groups even smaller. Unfortunately, it's often impossible to get through. You always have to ask: Excuse me, can I get through? If I have a shopping cart, it's worse, says Edie Rubert, a Venice resident.
A few months ago, city authorities began to charge a €5 fee for tourists who came to visit Venice just for one day, without staying overnight. From April to mid-July, this brought the local budget an additional €2.5 million. After the tests, the fee is to be introduced permanently – probably from next year.
UNESCO considered putting Venice on the blacklist
Not all visitors like the restrictions.
– It's a beautiful city and maybe many people won't be able to see it because of that. But it's sad that the residents feel this way, so maybe it's a good thing – comments Magdalena Stojanowska, a tourist from Sweden.
The problem of mass tourism was first taken seriously in Venice in 2014. At the time, UNESCO was considering putting Venice on a blacklist of world heritage sites at risk of destruction.
The huge ocean liners that sailed into the historic part of the city caused waves that destroyed the foundations of buildings. The fight lasted for years, but finally in 2021, regulations were introduced that banned vessels weighing more than 25 thousand tons from sailing into the city.
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Main image source: Reuters