Soon Tourists Will Have to Pay to Visit Venice

Tourists will soon have to dig into their wallets if they want to visit Italy’s famed canal city, Venice.

Ever since the pandemic shut down tourism in the area for months on end, locals and governmental officials have had a taste of the peace a quiet that cannot ordinarily be found with an influx of international travelers. And the residents of Venice liked it.

Not only was the calm appreciated by the locals, but it also became clear what a toll of over-tourism was taking on the sinking city.

Without cruise ships and a multitude of daily tourists, lagoon waters cleared upbringing wildlife back. Residents finally had the chance to slow down and enjoy their city.

Of course, all good things must come to an end, and Venice does rely heavily on tourism as a huge resource for its businesses to get by. So, though Italy is opening back up, it seems the Venetian government has learned from the unplanned pause.

Firstly, big cruise ships have been banned from entering and docking inside the fragile lagoon. Instead, all large vessels are being rerouted to dock at the industrial port of Marghera on the mainland until a new cruise terminal can be built.

Further ways the government have found to protect the old city and regulate tourism is to start charging day visitors and requiring them to reserve entry into the city.

Fees to visit Venice are be proposed to span somewhere between 3 Euro a day in low season to 10 Euro a day in high. Of course, residents and their visitors are exempt as, is likely, tourists who are staying in the city’s hotels or other accommodations.

Talk of turnstiles being erected at important access points to the historical city center has started, much to the chagrin of some who don’t want their town to turn into a theme park.

Nothing has been 100% determined as yet, but visiting Venice really should be no different than entering a National Park or similar. Here’s hoping the city reaps the rewards financially from the fees, also.