Venice concluded a pilot program on Sunday, charging a 5-euro entrance fee for day-trippers. The program generated over 2 million euros ($2.2 million) in revenue, leading the city to push for an extension of the levy. However, opponents argue that the experiment was a failure.
Several dozen activists gathered outside the Santa Lucia train station on Saturday to protest the fee, claiming it didn’t effectively deter visitors on peak days as intended. Giovanni Andrea Martini, an opposition city council member, stated, “The ticket is a failure, as demonstrated by city data.” He cited figures showing that an average of 75,000 visitors entered Venice daily during the trial period, 10,000 more than on three comparable holidays in 2023.
The day-tripper tax was imposed on 29 days this year, primarily weekends and holidays, from April 25 to mid-July. This initiative, delayed by the pandemic, was a response to UNESCO member states’ concerns regarding the city’s status as a World Heritage Site.
Over the past two and a half months, nearly 450,000 tourists paid the tax, generating around 2.2 million euros in revenue, according to calculations based on city data. Officials plan to utilize this income for essential services, which are more expensive in a canal-dependent city, including waste removal and maintenance.
The levy did not apply to hotel guests, who already pay a lodging tax, or to children under 14, residents of the region, students, workers, and visitors seeing family.
Simone Venturini, the city’s top tourism official, indicated that the levy would continue and be strengthened. A proposal to double the fee to 10 euros is being considered for next year. Despite promises of steep fines for non-payment, none were issued during checks at entry points, which ranged from 8,500 to 20,800 daily. City officials attribute this to a soft launch, while critics believe it led to a decline in payment compliance as visitors realized there was no risk in avoiding the fee.
Opponents of the plan argue that it failed to improve living conditions for residents, as intended. Narrow walkways and water taxis remain as crowded as ever. They advocate for policies that encourage repopulation of Venice’s historic center, which has been losing residents to the mainland for decades, including restrictions on short-term rentals. There are currently more tourist beds in the historic center than official residents, whose number stands at an all-time low of 50,000.
Martini, the city council member, believes a 10-euro fee is pointless, turning Venice into a museum. Protesters displayed banners expressing concerns about the city’s 2020 introduction of electronic and video surveillance for monitoring cell phone data of arriving visitors, which is essential for managing tourism. Placards warned about the use of personal data and the lack of data privacy.
Giovanni Di Vito, a Venice resident and activist against the tourist tax, stated, “The access ticket is a great distraction for the media, which only speaks about this 5 euros, which will become 10 euros next year. But no one is focusing on the system for surveillance and control of citizens.”
