Large photo Tourists visiting Venice, Italy, take photos on the Rialto Bridge on September 13 last year. [사진출처 = AP 연합뉴스]
Venice, Italy’s representative tourist city which has suffered from ‘over tourism’, charges tourists an entrance fee. Tourists must pay a daily visit fee of 5 euros (about 7,400 won).
Overtourism is a phenomenon where excessive crowds of tourists make the lives of local residents miserable. Representative cities that experience this include Venice, Italy, Amsterdam, the Netherlands, and Dubrovnik, Croatia.
On the 24th, the British Guardian reported that Venice, Italy, will start charging same-day tourists entering the city with an entrance fee from the 25th (local time). Firstly, it is temporarily installed from this day until July 14th.
Tourists can receive a QR code by paying the entrance fee on the official Venice website. Inspectors are stationed at key points, including Santa Lucia Station, to randomly check that entry fees have been paid. If you are caught sightseeing without paying the entrance fee, you will be subject to a fine of 50 to 300 euros.
The Mayor of Venice, Luigi Brugnaro, said, “This is an experiment that has never been attempted anywhere in the world,” and added, “This is a measure to make Venice a more livable city.”
The unconventional measure of an ‘entrance fee to the city’ was implemented as residents’ complaints about over-tourism exploded.
Venice is a small city with a population of only 50,000 people. It is estimated that an average of 40,000 people visit Venice every day during peak season. In 2022 alone, 30 million tourists flocked to the country.
Among these, only 10% of tourists stayed overnight, so side effects such as noise, environmental pollution, traffic difficulties, invasion of privacy, and increase in house prices outweighed the economic benefits of accommodation. In particular, as tourists began to flock again after the end of the COVID-19 pandemic, residents have been protesting and demanding measures from the authorities.
Italy’s ANSA news agency said, “Venice residents have suffered greatly from the influx of tourists every summer,” and added, “City authorities have adopted new measures to curb mass tourism by requiring ‘symbolic passports’ buy.
If you liked this article, click like.
good good 0
#Stop #travelling.. #place #welcoming #tourists #day #charges #entry
