Day-Trip Tourists Must Pay Entrance Fee... Venice to Charge 7,000 Won Starting the 25th

Venice, Italy's representative tourist city, will impose an entrance fee on day-trip tourists.

Venice stock photo

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On the 4th (local time), foreign media including the British daily The Telegraph reported that starting from the 25th, tourists visiting Venice who do not stay at local accommodations for at least one night will have to pay a city entrance fee of 5 euros (about 7,000 won). The entrance fee can be paid through the official website. By following the instructions on this website and paying the fee, visitors can download a QR code. This QR code serves as proof of payment for the entrance fee. Luigi Brugnaro, the mayor of Venice, said, "This is an experiment and the first of its kind among world cities," adding, "Our goal is to make Venice more vibrant."

However, tourists who stay for one night or more can download a free QR code. Additionally, native Venetians, people visiting for work, school, medical reasons, youths under 14 years old, and people with disabilities are exempt from paying the entrance fee. The city authorities plan to station inspectors at major gateways to Venice, such as Santa Lucia Station, to conduct random checks on tourists. If caught not paying the entrance fee, fines ranging from 50 to 300 euros (about 70,000 to 440,000 won) may be imposed.

[Image source=Pixabay]

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This city entrance fee policy was created to alleviate urban congestion caused by excessive tourist influx. It is reported that Venice receives 25 to 30 million tourists annually. However, the city's downtown population is around 50,000, and this number is steadily decreasing. Foreign media noted that although tourism is Venice's main source of income, residents have expressed dissatisfaction due to rising housing prices caused by excessive tourists and a lack of jobs outside the tourism sector, leading to population decline.

For this reason, city authorities considered controlling the number of tourists by introducing entrance fees, but implementation was delayed due to the COVID-19 pandemic. Also, starting from June, the size of group tourists visiting Venice cannot exceed 25 people. The use of loudspeakers by tour guides is prohibited, and group tourists are forbidden from stopping on narrow streets, bridges, or walkways to listen to guides’ explanations, as this could cause inconvenience to pedestrians.

Meanwhile, Bali, a popular resort in Indonesia, has been collecting a tourism tax of 150,000 rupiah (about 13,000 won) from foreign travelers since February, and the Hawaii State Legislature in the United States is pushing a bill to impose a flat tourism tax of 25 dollars (about 34,000 won) on tourists checking into hotels or short-term rental accommodations.

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