Venice has often been likened to an open-air museum—and starting next year, it might feel like one, too.
On August 21, the local administration of La Serenissima announced that, from the second half of 2022, it will limit the number of visitors to its narrow calli and iconic piazzas. To regulate access, the city will introduce electronic turnstiles at different entry points, a dedicated booking app, and an entrance fee of €3 to €10 (about $3.50 to $11.80) for anyone visiting for the day (costs will vary depending on the season). Residents, students, and commuters will be exempt from the added cost, as will travelers who book stays in local hotels (who already pay a city tax of up to €5 a night).
The measure is the latest effort to preserve Venice’s fragile ecosystem, and curb the overtourism it suffered from in pre-pandemic years. It follows the ban on large cruise ships that came into effect on August 1, and the recent decision by the Italian government to make the lagoon a national monument, so as to place it under enhanced state protection.
“We want to reposition Venice as a place people don’t just come to for a few hours, but experience for a few days, and with a deeper awareness of its urban, social, and cultural fabric,” says Simone Venturini, Venice’s Tourism Councilor. “By introducing a ticketing system we can limit crowds, shift away from the ‘day-tripper model’ that’s been so detrimental to the city, and hopefully win back the overnight guests that have stopped coming because of overtourism.”
Plans to tax visitors to Venice aren’t new, nor is the turnstile idea, which was briefly implemented in 2018. But following Italy’s reopening to tourism this past summer, Venturini says that this time they’re here to stay. “We’ve spent the past two years developing a long-term strategy to make tourism more sustainable both for those who visit and those who live in Venice. I’m confident that this integrated approach is going to ensure a better future for our city.”
Francesco Pugliese, owner of boutique hotel Avogaria, in the Dorsoduro district, agrees. “It was time to do something drastic,” he says. “And if that means turning Venice into a gated destination, I am ok with it. We need a filter or we’re going to collapse. That’s the reality of things.”
It’s a dire statement, but a quick look at the figures backs it up.
In early August some 85,000 people passed through Venice’s historical city center—whose population is 55,000—in a day. In 2019, there were peaks of 110,000. Before the pandemic, around 30 million tourists arrived annually, 73 percent of which were daily visitors (including cruise passengers) but only made 18 percent of its tourism economy. Meanwhile 70 percent of Venetians have left Venice in the past 70 years.
“It’s unsustainable,” Pugliese says. “Our streets, squares, and palazzos aren’t structurally built to cope with such high volumes of people—especially when so many come only to take a selfie in St. Mark’s Square.”
For Gioele Romanelli, owner of design-forward apartment-hotel Casa Flora, institutional regulations over the flow of visitors could also benefit the way visitors engage with Venice. “Venice isn’t just monuments and sights. It’s locals too—artisans, family-owned restaurants, artists, and local shops. When you’re here for a day, you don’t really have time to explore any of that. I think a slower, more discerning and responsible way of seeing the city can only be positive.”
But the ‘limited entry’ has also drawn criticisms from locals. Some residents, as well as Italian media and politicians, have described the move as the next step towards turning Venice into a “theme park.”
Monica Sambo, a Venice City Councilor and head of the local Democratic Party council group, believes turnstiles and daily fees won’t make a difference in improving the city’s tourism industry.
“Turnstiles don’t really limit arrivals—you’d have to place them everywhere around the city’s access points, which isn’t currently in the pipeline. If anything, it’ll just mean visitors will enter from areas that may have escaped the crowds until now, transforming those into new busy spots, likely with very long lines to get in. The extra fee doesn’t resolve the mass tourism issue either. Sure, some people might be deterred from coming in just for a day-trip, but is that enough to create a more sustainable ecosystem?”
Either way, change has to happen, and fast.
“We need to rethink how everyone approaches Venice,” Romanelli says. “The city is so much more than what it’s become today. Whatever method we use to highlight that is good for me.”
