Up to ten euros: Venice wants to double entrance fees

The city councillor in charge of finance, Michele Zoin, announced in the local newspaper Il Gazzettino that the “basic tariff” will apply on certain days from 2025. He has not yet commented on the exact amount. However, on “critical days” a maximum tariff of ten euros will be charged. “In this way we hope to discourage those who arrive,” the local politician said.

The city wants to take its time to get an official result after the last two days of testing on Saturday and Sunday. To do this, the data collected must first be evaluated. In principle, the procedure is already clear, despite criticism from the public: testing should become a permanent regulation – not every day of the year, but during times of high activity.

In all, Venice has earned more than two million euros through the new fees. On some days, more than 25,000 paying guests have been registered. There are no reliable estimates of how many tourists have managed to avoid paying five euros. But one thing is certain: the real goal—to curb mass tourism, which Venice suffers from like no other city—has not been achieved.

So far there is no deterrent effect.

“There were no major deterrent effects,” admitted the city treasurer Zwin. But no one expected this. “It would be different if the ten-euro cap were applied on days when the city’s critical attendance threshold was reached,” said Simone Venutini, a member of the city’s tourism council. “Venice is still very cheap.” It’s not a tragedy if tourists pay more.”

However, Federica Toninello, spokeswoman for the citizens' initiative Assemblea per la casa Venezia (Venice House Association), told RAI television of the experiments so far: “They have brought money into the municipal coffers, but they have not worked.”

Donna Leon complains about making money

“The authorities don’t want it to work: they don’t want to stop tourism,” American author Donna Leon, whose crime novels set in Venice have been international hits, told the German Press Agency. “They want to make money from visitors.” Leon has long since abandoned her Venice residence.

The regulation was in effect for 29 days. In principle, between 8:30 a.m. and 4:00 p.m., the entrance fee was five euros. You could get a QR code online and upload it to your cell phone. Otherwise, there would be a fine of up to 300 euros – but no one had to pay that much money.

More than 50 thousand beds for guests

With an estimated 15 million visitors a year, Venice is one of the most visited cities in the world. Mass tourism brings a lot of money to the coffers, but it also causes great damage. Today, there are no longer 50,000 permanent residents in the center, which includes hundreds of canals. There are more than 50,000 guest beds. On many days, it is almost impossible to get through the narrow streets surrounding Piazza San Marco and the Rialto Bridge.

Last year, the city was on the verge of being included on the UN’s Red List of World Heritage Sites in danger of extinction. This could also be prevented with the help of fees. There were a number of exceptions: for example, local residents, hotel guests and children under 14 did not have to pay anything. It should stay that way.