Ex-mayor urges tourists not to pay to enter Venice

Tourists will be charged a €5 Peter Cade fee to enter Venice's busiest areas. Photo: Peter Cade/Stone RF

Tourists should refuse to pay Venice's «absurd» €5 entry fee when it is introduced on Thursday, the city's former mayor said.

Day tourists to Venice already overcharges for restaurants and public transport and they won't have to do that. «pay another 5 euros (£4.30) to get into town,» said Massimo Cacciari.

“This is pure madness, it is completely illegal and unconstitutional — in no city in the world do you have to pay to enter. «, he said, «it seems absurd to me.»

«Tourists in Venice already pay three times more than Venetians for public transport tickets. They pay for museums. They pay for everything . I would suggest everyone not to pay

Massimo Cacciari, the former mayor of Venice, says he would like city officials to fight the charge in court. Photo: Roberto Serra — Iguana Press

“I would like the city to have to justify in court the legality of imposing a tax on entry into the city,” said Mr. Cacciari, a philosopher and prominent Italian public figure who has been mayor of Venice since 1993 to 2000 and from 2005 to 2010.

“What are they going to do, block people from moving, send the police to ask them to show everyone their ID and check if they paid the entry fee?” he told Adnkronos, the Italian news agency.

Venice will become the first city in the world to charge an entrance fee when the scheme goes into effect on Thursday.

This will apply to a total of The 29 busiest days until July.

The goal is to try to reduce the number of day tourists coming to the city, blocking its narrow streets and bridges and making life difficult for locals, whose number is now down to 50,000 .

Day tourists usually wander along the worn path between the Rialto Bridge and St. Mark's Square, causing congestion and strain on services.

Tourists are those who spends at least one night in a hotel are exempt from paying the fee on the basis that they make a greater contribution to the economy.

Around 30 million tourists flock to Venice every year, of which 21 million are day travelers.

Simone Venturini, a tourism adviser, said it was «not a magic wand» but part of a wider strategy to combat overtourism.

«We want to discourage day-trippers from visiting Venice during these 29 allotted days,» he said outside Venice train station, where police and officials will conduct random checks on tourists from the morning. on Thursday to check if they had paid the entrance fee and downloaded the QR code to their phone.

“Fewer day-trippers does not mean less income, as overnight tourists are more important to the city's economy. We will see the results in the medium to long term and in the meantime we will evaluate how things go.”

Depending on how successfully it reduces the number of visitors, it could be extended.

The reservation system will also allow Venetian authorities to know how many tourists will arrive in the city at any given time. every day so they can better plan for public transportation and waste collection, Mr. Venturini said.