A Day Fee to Visit Venice Is in the Works
Backpackers beware: A new day fee is in the works for Venice tourists beginning in 2019, targeting an abundant 24 million non-overnight visitors per year. That means, even if you're not booking a hotel, you'll still have an added expense when checking out Venice.
The implementation has the potential to cut down on the number of tourists who travel through Venice while bringing in a new source of revenue that can be used to keep up the city. While the city council still has yet to negotiate the cost of a day trip for travelers, Mayor Luigi Brugnaro told the Associated Press that the fee could range anywhere between €2.50 ($2.84) and €10 ($11.35).
In his tweet about the new fee, Mayor Brugnaro said that the fee "will help [Venice] to better manage the city, keep it clean, offer cutting-edge services to guests and make Venetians live more decorously."
Residents, overnight tourists, students studying in the city and those who commute to Venice for work will all be exempt from paying the new fee, according to Condé Nast Traveler.
In recent years, Venice has actively targeted tourists time and time and time and time again. And while rebuilding and maintaining the reputation of a city should be prioritized, we've seen restrictive measures get out of hand, allowing tourists to be fined for simply sitting in public areas, riding bikes, wearing bathing suits or partaking in seemingly anything that has the potential to be disruptive.
Even though day fee seems to lean on the more reasonable side of these restrictions, there are Venetians who aren't in favor the direction that Venice has been recently been going in when it comes to tourists. As reported by Condé Nast Traveler, certain hotels and tours say that the recent measures have been too successful in driving out tourists who may have otherwise stayed overnight. Plus, businesses don't benefit from the overnight fees that Venice charges.
H/T: Condé Nast Traveler
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