Venice plans to double the number of days it charges tourists an entrance fee in 2025, following a “successful” trial last year, according to the city’s mayor. Luigi Brugnaro stated that the goal remains to discourage tourists from visiting the city on the same days “to give Venice the respect it deserves”. Day trippers who book in advance will be required to pay €5 (£4.17; $5.41) to enter the Italian city on specific days between April and July, increasing to €10 if booked less than four days in advance. The fee will be applied every Friday through Sunday and on public holidays between 18 April and 27 July 2025, totaling 54 days. All visitors over the age of 14 must pay the fee on their phones and download a QR code to show inspectors, who will conduct random checks in common arrival areas like the train station. Those without a ticket risk receiving a fine. Similar to the previous charge, individuals with hotel and guest house reservations will be exempt, as will residents of the Veneto region, Venice university students, and visitors with relatives living in Venice. City councillor Simone Venturini remarked, “Venice has transitioned from being the city most impacted by and criticized for overtourism to being the city that is responding to this issue earliest and most proactively on the global stage.” According to Italian media, in the initial eight days of the program in April, Venice authorities collected the expected amount for three months. By mid-July, the city had collected approximately €2.4m (£2m; $2.5m) in entrance fees. However, Mayor Brugnaro stated that further analysis is needed to determine if the scheme’s budget breaks even completely. The cost of the ticket booking platform and the subsequent communication campaign cost around €3m, as reported by Italian media. Venice opposition councilor Giovanni Andrea Martini criticized the entrance fee system in July, calling it a “failure” as it did not help distribute the flow of tourists visiting Venice. He also argued that raising the fee from €5 to €10 would be “useless” and would simply “turn Venice into a museum.” Last year, Unesco recommended adding the city to a list of world heritage sites in danger due to the impact of climate change and mass tourism posing threats of irreversible changes. In 2021, large cruise ships were prohibited from entering Venice’s historic center via the Giudecca canal after a ship collided with a harbor. Critics also claimed that the ships were causing pollution and damaging the city’s foundations, which are susceptible to frequent flooding.
