Popular European city to charge visitors a fee to fight overtourism

A European tourist hotspot will charge holiday-makers an entry fee in new measures introduced to fight overtourism.

A European tourist hotspot will charge holiday-makers to visit.

The proposal for the Italian city of Venice has been debated for years – but will start from spring 2024.

Venice is to trial the charges, which will see day-trippers charged 5 euro ($8.40) if visiting the historical Italian centre.

The new measures have been introduced due to the overtourism the area suffers from.

The council executive backed the move just weeks after UN cultural agency UNESCO recommended Venice be added to its list of world heritage in danger, in part because of the impact of mass tourism.

Mayor Luigi Brugnaro urged that Venice was still “open to everyone”.

He added: “Regulating tourist flows in certain periods is necessary, but that does not mean closing the city.”

Venice will start charging tourists to visit. Picture: Getty Images

The city is yet to reveal how many tickets will be sold per day, meaning some tourists could be turned away on entry.

The 30-day trial will take place across public holidays and weekends next spring and summer.

Not everyone will have to pay the charge.

People who live in Venice are exempt, as are students and kids under the age of 14.

And anyone staying in Venice overnight also won’t have to pay this new fee.

There is already a tourist tax for nonresidents who stay overnight in a hotel or Airbnb for the first five consecutive days of stay. It ranges between 1 euro and 5 euros per person per night depending on the time of year.

They city is grappling with the impact of overtourism. Picture: istock

Simone Venturini, the city’s council member for tourism, said the new scheme was not about making money, but to find a “balance between the rights of those who live, study or work in Venice, and those who visit the city”.

The plans were first discussed back in 2018, with previous plans charging as much as €10 ($17) to enter.

However, the new rules have been postponed over the years due to fears it will affect tourist numbers, especially after Covid.

Other measures have been introduced since then.

Large cruise ships were banned in 2021, due to the damage it was causing the city’s ecosystem.

Around 3.2 million tourists stayed in Venice last year.

UNESCO, who added Venice to its heritage list in 1987 due to its architecture, warned in July it faces “irreversible damage” due to mass tourism.

The recommendation that the city be added to its list of world heritage in danger will be discussed later this month.

Earlier this week, restrictions were introduced on the number of people permitted to visit the Acropolis in Athens, Greece.

The famous attraction capped visitors at a maximum of 20,000 people per day.

“Obviously tourism is desirable for the country, for all of us. But we must work out how excessive tourism won’t harm the monument,” Culture Minister Lina Mendoni said.