Few really pay

90,000 tickets booked for Venice

The special tax in Venice is five euros.(Bild: AFP)

A day fee for tourists was introduced in Venice for the first time on Thursday. Over 90,000 people had registered by Wednesday evening and 8,000 had paid the five-euro ticket.

The special fee of five euros must be paid by all visitors who want to visit the lagoon city between 8.30 am and 4 pm. To do so, they must purchase a QR code online in advance, which is checked at the main access points to the city. Citizens from the Veneto region, workers and students are exempt from the tax - but they must register on the online platform. Children under the age of 14, disabled people and accompanying persons are also required to book but not to pay.

The special tax in Venice is five euros. (Image: AFP) The special tax in Venice is five euros.(Bild: AFP)

It is already being checked.(Bild: AP)

Fee due on 29 days
The entrance fee will be charged on a total of 29 days in 2024: from April 25 to 30, from May 1 to 5 and on all other weekends (Saturdays and Sundays) until July 13 and 14. This excludes the Republic Day weekend (June 1 to 2). If you want to visit the smaller islands of Murano, Burano and Torcello, you don't need a ticket.

Without a ticket, you will be fined.(Bild: AP)

"Very gentle controls"
Checkpoints were set up on Thursday in Piazzale Roma near the train station, at the Punta Sabbioni ferry port and in Chioggia. Day tourists caught without a valid ticket will be fined between 50 and 300 euros. Mayor Luigi Brugnaro promised on Thursday that "very gentle controls" would be carried out on a random basis and should not lead to queues.

This is an experiment, the first of its kind in the world.

Bürgermeister Luigi Brugnaro

"It's an experiment, the first in the world," said the mayor, who stubbornly defends the controversial measure. "Our aim is not to collect money, but to prevent the city from exploding. We want to make Venice more tourist-friendly, because it belongs not only to the Venetians, but to the whole world." Several gates - not turnstiles - will be set up to intercept the majority of tourists.

Ex-mayor calls for disobedience
The former mayor of Venice, Massimo Cacciari, was critical. He called on tourists to disobey and not pay for the entrance ticket, which he said was "unconstitutional". "It's pure madness, these measures are completely unlawful and unconstitutional. In no city in the world do you pay admission," criticized Cacciari.

Venice threatens to "die out"
Venice is in danger of "dying out" under the pressure of mass tourism. In the old town, the number of tourist beds overtook the number of inhabitants in December. There were 50,016 guest beds and 49,211 residents, according to the Venessia.com association based on data from the city's registry office. Including mainland residents, Venice has a good 260,000 inhabitants. More and more are moving away from the old town.