Venice's Authority Expands Entry Fees System For Tourists From 2025

Grand canal of Venice. (Wikimedia Commons/gnuckx)

JAKARTA - The Royal Authority of Venice, Italy plans to expand its tourist entry cost system by 2025, by doubling the number of days visitors have to pay to see the lagoon city, raising ticket prices for those arriving at the last minute, officials said on Thursday.

For the first time in the world, the Italian destination imposed a fee of 5 euros in April for tourists arriving on very dense days, hoping the fee would help reduce congestion.

The initial scheme, which is closely monitored by other global tourist attractions, covers 29 days over a four month period. This fee will be raised to 54 days next year, during the same April-July period.

The fee will remain at 5 euros for those who book tickets early. However, it will increase to 10 euros for anyone who books tickets within four days of their travel plan. As before, people who book rooms at hotels and guest guest homes will be excluded.

"Venesia has changed from the most exposed city and has been criticized for its excessive tourism phenomenon, becoming the city that reacted at its earliest and most proactive to this phenomenon on the global stage," said Simone Venturini, a member of the city council in charge of tourism and social cohesion..

He said at a press conference the system was still in the experimental phase. Furthermore, he said, popular places among tourists, including the historic Japanese city, Kyoto, and Formentera Island in Spain, had contacted him to ask about the scheme.

Previously, critics said the payment system failed to slow down the flow of tourists. However, Mayor Luigi Brugnaro said it was too early to assess, with accurate data available only this year.

He added that Venice did not want to expel people, but instead encouraged visitors to rethink their visit date.

"We are not against it (tourism). We only believe that it can be spread," he said, warning the city would provide fines for people who do not have permits from 2025.

Overall, 485,062 people paid for daily tickets this year, raised 2.25 million euros. Brugnaro said this only covered part of the system's costs, and was not intended to make cash for the city treasury.