Venice will soon implement a day-trip fee for tourists
Day trippers visiting Venice will have to start paying an access fee to visit the historic Italian city next year.
This week, Venice city council announced details about the €5 (C$7.31) fee for day trippers beginning in spring 2024 to regulate how many tourists visit its sites, including the city’s famous waterways.
Venice city council said the trial fee will be in place for 30 days and will focus on spring holidays and summer weekends when more tourists are expected to visit. “The goal is to discourage daily tourism in certain periods,” said Venice city council in a statement.
The access fee applies to any person over the age of 14. Tourists staying overnight will not have to pay, as they’re charged a different type of tourist fee.
Residents of Venice, workers, commuters, local students, and locals who have paid the Imposta Municipale Unica (IMU) municipal property tax in Venice are exempt from the payment.
In a statement on X (formerly Twitter), Venice Mayor Luigi Brugnaro said implementing an access fee was necessary to protect Venice.
“It is a delicate city, it is the most beautiful city in the world and we have a duty to defend it together,” he said.
Large cruise ships have been banned from entering Venice’s delicate waterways since 2021, and this past summer, UNESCO recommended that Venice and its lagoon be added to its World Heritage in Danger List.
Venice has been discussing the access fee since 2019; in July 2022, the city said the rules would come into effect in 2023, but finalizing the regulations has experienced several delays.
Venice has not announced the official start date of the day trip access fee trial.
Canadian travellers should also take note that they’ll have to pay the European Travel Information Authorization System (ETIAS) fee to visit Europe starting in 2024.
Follow Channels and Categories