If a Venetian gondola ride under the Bridge of Sighs or an aperitivo at Harry’s Bar is on your travel list for 2024, you might need to fill out some extra paperwork—and pay some extra money. In an effort to shore up against the ravages of overtourism, Venice will start charging certain tourists an entry fee to access the marvels of the delicate floating city.
As part of the plan for next year, the city recently released its fee schedule for 2024 detailing the days peak-hour visitors can expect to be levied the new tax (which will only apply to tourists who are not spending the night). The goal of the new fee is to encourage visitors to stay longer, reduce overcrowding, and make Venice more hospitable for its permanent residents.
Day-trippers over the age of 14 will have to pay 5 euros (about $5.45) to gain entry, but Venice Mayor Luigi Brugnaro says the primary purpose of the levy is not to bring in extra money. “Our attempt is to make a more livable city,” Brugnaro said of the policy at a news conference earlier this month, per the AP.
According to the schedule, there are 29 days on which day-trippers will be charged to enter Venice in 2024. Most of them fall on weekends during the high season from April to July, with some weekdays included during April and May. The fee will apply between 8:30 a.m. and 4 p.m., which are considered the city’s busiest hours. Short-term visitors outside of those hours—those coming for the evening or in the early morning—will not have to pay the new tax. Others exempt from the charge include residents, travelers staying in a hotel within Venice (who already pay a similar tax each night), students, workers, and anyone born in Venice.
Day visitors will need to register before arrival, and can begin scheduling their visits on a just-launched page on the city of Venice’s government website, starting on January 16. After paying the 5 euros, the site will generate a QR code that day-trippers will need to show upon arrival in Venice at one of seven entry points.
Why is Venice taxing tourists?
Although it’s launching in 2024, Venice’s plans to tax day-trippers have long been in the works. The first iteration of the plan was introduced in 2019, but was derailed by the pandemic until recently. In the past, the city has also installed electronic turnstiles to particularly crowd-choked sectors of the city; tourists had to use an app and pay a small fee in order to pass through.
But travel specialists don’t agree that the new 5 euro charge will be an effective deterrent for travelers eager to see the wonders of the UNESCO-listed lagoon city, including the breathtaking Grand Canal, St. Mark’s Square, and the Rialto Bridge. “I’m not sure it will discourage visitors from coming during high-season, but hopefully the extra charge contributes to a cleaner, safer, and more efficient Venice,” says Courtney Mundy, a travel specialist with Butterfield & Robinson based in Italy.
For others, the crowd control isn’t worth the hassle that the registration system could pose for other visitors. “Not only will the day-trippers have to file for a QR code, but also workers in the city and, ridiculously, Venice’s hotel guests,” says Avi Hagby, a resident and owner of tour company Venice Luxury Services. “That means that even the non-day-tripper will have to file arduous forms before coming." Indeed, travelers staying in Venetian hotels will also need to generate a QR code to show on arrival and input their hotel information in order to bypass the fee.
Regardless of whether the tax will be effective at quelling the crowds, it’s certainly clear that Venice is reaching a breaking point with overtourism. During the summer high season, as many as 110,000 tourists per day pass through Venice, according to Euro News. The hordes of visitors far outnumber the local population—which currently clocks in at about 50,000 residents—and contribute to problems including litter, pollution, and potential damage to historic sites.
The situation has gotten so dire that UNESCO recommended earlier this year that the city be placed on its World Heritage in Danger list, which tracks sites at risk of deterioration or destruction due to “serious and specific dangers.” (Along with mass tourism, the organization is also concerned by the threat of climate change looming over the city.) Ultimately, UNESCO refrained from adding Venice to the official list, in part because of the day-tripper tax, according to the AP.
But, for some, tourists who visit only for the day represent only a small piece of a much larger issue. “Blaming them for overtourism in Venice would not be accurate,” Hagby says. “It’s only part of the problem.” Just as important, according to Hagby, would be increasing the amount of hotel rooms available in Venice to encourage longer stays, clamping down on illegal vacation rentals, and prioritizing efforts to grow the city’s number of residents.
To help reduce the strain, consider a longer stay during the off-season
While those are all initiatives for officials to tackle, tourists can do their parts, too. The easiest way travelers can take pressure off of the at-risk destination? “The short answer is to stay longer,” Mundy says. “The tourism economy in Venice is largely driven by hotel revenue, whereas purchases by day-trippers contribute only a fraction of support for the city. Staying longer reduces the environmental impact of scores of day-trippers packing onto one ferry after the other, which disrupts the wildlife in the canals, adds to air, water, and sound pollution, and increases the number of paper tickets printed.”
Travelers who opt for longer visits in Venice can plan a more in-depth trip, including visiting other islands in the Lagoon, according to Mundy. “We take our travelers biking along the beach in Pellestrina and Lido, to the mesmerizing glass workshops in Murano, and have a wine-paired lunch in complete tranquility on tiny Mazzorbo,” she says.
Visiting outside of peak hours of 11 a.m. to 4 p.m. is another good way to reduce strain on the fragile city. A visit at night also means avoiding the new tax—remember, it ends at 4 p.m.—and saving a bit of cash. “Saint Mark’s Square is even more beautiful in the evening,” Hagby says. Of course, like many destinations, visiting in the off-season is one of the surest ways to avoid Venice’s clamoring crowds. Cold weather months tend to be significantly slower, with November to January usually being the calmest, according to Hagby.
Even though it will be chillier, the good news is that Venice is enchanting all year round. “If you have the possibility to choose the period in which to visit Venice, come during low season,” Hagby says. “Venice is fascinating when it’s foggy or cold.”
