Venice plans to experiment with an entrance fee for tourists who don’t plan to stay overnight to avoid overcrowding the city due to high numbers of visitors, Reuters reported.

Venice and its famous gondolasPhoto: Gabriel BOUYS / AFP / Profimedia

The measure was announced on Tuesday by Venice’s local council, which said next year the fee will be 5 euros ($5.35) per 30 days. They will be chosen to coincide with peak tourism dates such as summer weekends or public holidays.

Although the Venice authorities stress that the measure is a “test”, the tax will be levied on all people aged 14 and over.

The aim is to “find a new balance between the rights of those who live, study or work in Venice and those who visit the city,” said Simone Venturini, Venice’s tourism adviser.

He wanted to emphasize that this measure is not a measure by which the authorities try to collect more money for the local budget, saying that the tax will only cover the costs of administering the system.

The exact days to be chosen for the collection and the final details are to be decided by local councils, most likely next week.

For years, Venice wanted to introduce a fee for entering the city

Venice authorities announced plans to introduce an entry tax to the city for the first time in 2019, but the move has been repeatedly delayed due to the outbreak of the COVID-19 pandemic.

Local authorities appear to have scrapped some of the tougher aspects of the plan, which included requiring pre-registration to visit the city and installing electronic turnstiles at the entrances to Venice, although this will not be known for sure until next week’s local council vote.

As with other popular destinations in Europe, Venice has seen an influx of visitors this year that far exceeds the city’s 50,000 permanent residents.

Overcrowding caused by mass tourism has also caused problems for the famous lagoon on which the city sits, and in July UNESCO experts recommended that both sites be put on the danger list.

UNESCO experts also accused the Italian government of insufficient measures to protect the lagoon and the city from the effects of climate change and mass tourism.