For four months earlier this year, the Italian city of Venice conducted a pilot program for a surcharge scheme for daytrippers. Non-overnight visitors had to pay €5 ($5.40) on specific days that were considered to be the most congested, such as weekends and national holidays.
The aim of the fee was to discourage visitors from coming on overcrowded days and help address Venice’s issue with overtourism. In 2023, Venice welcomed 5.7 million visitors, with peak days seeing over 80,000 arrivals. To put this in perspective, the historic center of Venice now has fewer than 50,000 residents.
However, the experiment did not succeed in reducing visitor numbers to the iconic canal city. Instead, during the first 11 days of the pilot period, nearly 750,000 visitors were recorded. On the same days in 2023, there were around 680,000 entries.
Despite the disappointing results, Venice authorities have announced that the day tripper tax will return in 2025, with the fee potentially doubling to €10 ($10.80) on certain days.
Many Venice residents have been against the entry fee from the start, staging protests including on the day it was implemented. For these campaigners, the solution to Venice’s tourism challenges lies in supporting the local community.
Venice entry fee is an ‘attack on privacy’
Susanna Polloni, a campaigner with the Rete Solidale Casa organization that advocates for housing rights for Venice residents, argues that the entry fee not only impacted tourists but also city residents who were not required to pay.
“What legitimate reasons justify this invasion of privacy, reducing the most beautiful city in the world to the only paid city, and forcing its residents to prove their citizenship?” she questions. “The burden of overtourism has been placed on the shoulders of Venice’s citizens.”
‘Urgent’ need to reduce short-term rentals in Venice
Polloni has analyzed data from Venice’s Smart Control Room, which gathers visitor statistics, and points out another issue that she believes authorities should address. The number of overnight visitors recorded exceeds the number of registered beds in the city, indicating numerous illegal short-term rentals.
She emphasizes the “urgent need for the city to establish regulations that significantly reduce short-term rentals.”
Venice authorities need to invest in tourism management
For many advocates, it is not just the quantity but also the type of tourism that is harming Venice. Valeria Duflot, founder of the visitor advice website Venezia Autentica, advocates for a tourism model that benefits the local population.
“I believe that the daytripper tax is insufficient to address the major issues caused by tourism today, such as displacing local businesses and residents,” she states. “We should view the decline of Venice, its community, and its heritage as a lesson and work together to change how we measure success and engage communities in the tourism industry.”
Duflot suggests focusing on influencing tourists to spend their time and money in ways that support the local community, economy, and heritage.
According to Polloni, the €5 entry fee is not only ineffective but also prevents funds from being directed towards initiatives to assist residents.
“Other necessary and urgent measures include renovating and allocating vacant public housing, diversifying the economy to create non-tourism-related jobs, improving local public transportation, and enhancing social and health services,” she explains. “Only by taking these actions can we save the city.”