In Venice, tourists will soon have to pay admission

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Venice has decided to break new ground in terms of tourism during the pandemic. Visits to the old town will require reservations starting this summer.

The Italian lagoon city of Venice plans to require tourists to reserve their trip to the old town in advance by summer. Starting in 2023, visitors should buy a ticket to visit the historic center, said Venice’s tourism commissioner, Simone Venturini. This will allow the municipality to better plan ahead for how many people will be in the city. Over the years, excessive tourism has led to overcrowding and damaging effects on the town and its surroundings. To manage tourism, Venice will now be the first city to charge an entrance fee.

Around Easter, hundreds of thousands of visitors were in Venice. Long lines formed at famous sights such as St. Mark’s Basilica. “Tourism in Venice is starting again,” Mayor Luigi Brugnaro wrote on Twitter on Easter Monday. “Today, many have understood that booking for the city is the right way for a balanced tourism management,” he continued.

According to the U.S. “Forbes” magazine, visitors to Venice will have to book their visit from June and pay a fee of between 3 and 10 euros, depending on the season, and will be made permanent from 2023. The 2023 ticket is essential for day-trippers to the Unesco World Heritage site. Those who book a hotel in Venice should not have to worry about it, according to Venturini. Locals wouldn’t need the ticket anyway. Many of them have been upset about mass tourism for years. During the Corona pandemic, visitor numbers plummeted, but the call was to better control tourist flows for the future.