Venice will start charging tourists a €5 entry fee at peak times of the year in a bid to reduce overcrowding

• The plans will come in for peak weekends in 2024 
• Venice narrowly escaped being put on the UN’s endangered list last year because of threat of over-tourism 

Venice has unveiled it’s latest plan to to reduce overcrowding on the floating city in a first-of-its-kind experiment to charge visitors to enter. 

Local authorities have announced it will charge tourists five euros or £4.35 per person to visit Venice during peak times in 2024.

This includes all 29 days from April to mid-July, including most weekends however you will only have to pay the fee during peak hours from 8.30am until 4pm, meaning visitors who come into Venice for dinner or a concert will not have to pay. 

The plans, dubbed the tourist ‘contribution’ programme, will focus on reducing crowds, but are also in place to encourage longer visits and improve the quality of life for residents.

Venice, a Unesco World Heritage site, narrowly escaped being placed on the UN agency’s endangered list earlier this year because of the threat that over-tourism was having on its delicate ecosystem.

The tourist ‘contribution’ programme will focus on reducing crowds, but are also in place to encourage longer visits and improve the quality of life for residents

Venice, a Unesco World Heritage site, narrowly escaped being placed on the UN agency’s endangered list earlier this year because of the threat that over-tourism was having on its delicate ecosystem 

It was agreed that it could be spared from the list as long as this new entry fee was brought in, sparing the Italian government any embarrassment over the condition of the city.  

Venice mayor Luigi Brugnaro stressed that the fee is not a new tourist tax or an attempt to bring in extra revenue: ‘Our attempt is to make a more liveable city.’

A host of exemptions apply, including for residents and Venetian-born visitors, students and workers, as well as tourists who have hotel or other lodging reservations.

Starting on January 16, a website, www.cda.ve.it, will go live at which visitors can ‘reserve’ their day in Venice.

Day trippers pay five euro and get a QR code that will then be checked at spot controls at seven access points around the city, including at the main train station.

Visitors with hotel reservations enter their hotel information and also get a QR code to show, without having to pay since their hotel bill will already include a Venice lodging fee.

Venice (pictured) mayor Luigi Brugnaro stressed that the fee is not a new tourist tax or an attempt to bring in extra revenue 

After Covid-19 lockdowns devastated Venice’s tourism industry, the city of narrow alleyways, canals and islands has been trying to rethink its relationship with visitors in a more sustainable way while also seeking to incentivise its residents to stay put.

Venice has been forced to take action in response to the steady exodus of Venetians to the mainland and pressure from Unesco and environmentalists, who also lobbied successfully to have the government ban big cruise ships from sailing past St Mark’s Square and through the Giudecca canal.

Venice has been pointing to longer-term tourists as key to its survival since they tend to spend more.

Mr Brugnaro said in no way does the new day-tripper contribution discourage tourism overall, but just seeks to manage it better.

He acknowledged the visitor scheme will probably have glitches and will need to be amended. But he said that after years of study and talk, it was time to roll it out.

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