After introducing a €5/day tax, Venice will ban megaphones and groups of tourists of more than 25 people in an attempt to mitigate the impact of mass tourism on the Italian city, BBC reports, citing news.ro.

The new rules will come into force in June 2024, the local authorities said. Guides were banned from using megaphones because they could “create confusion and disturbance”.

Over-tourism is widely recognized as a pressing issue for the canal city, one of the most visited destinations in Europe.

In September, Venice approved a trial of a €5 fee for day visitors.

Elisabetta Pesce, the official in charge of security in the city, said the latest measures “aim to improve the management of organized groups in the historic centre”.

According to the Italian National Institute of Statistics, the city has an area of ​​only 7.6 square kilometers, but in 2019 it was visited by almost 13 million tourists. Visitor numbers are expected to surpass pre-pandemic levels in the coming years.

Earlier this year, UNESCO said the city should be added to the list of world heritage sites in danger as the effects of climate change and mass tourism threaten to cause irreversible changes.

In 2021, large cruise ships were banned from entering the historic center of Venice through the Giudecca Canal after a ship ran aground in the port. Critics also argued that the ships pollute the environment and erode the foundation of the city, which regularly floods.

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