Entry fee for tourists in Venice: What could be the reason?

On April 25, the Italian city of Venice brought about an entry fee for visitors who were stepping into the city. The purpose is to combat over tourism.

The access fee in Venice

Day trippers who are hoping to step into the city between 8:30 am to 4 pm are now needed to pay an access fee of €5. Overnight visitors, however, are exempted from any such charge. Moreover, even commuters, residents, children under the years of 14, and students are exempted from the fee. The entrance fee can be made through online mode and it is only required to step into the historic center of Venice. As a part of the trial period, the fee is applicable on 29 peak days from 25th of April to 14th of July. The transgressors may be supposed to pay a heavy fine that range from  €50  to €300.

The response by the people

Locals call such a rule a "joke". They believe that a fee like this would actually turn Venice into a theme park. A few residents' associations have demonstrated protests. They claim that such a rule is nothing but a political ploy, and this would not stop the tourists from visiting the Rialto Bridge and the St. Mark’s Square. On the very first day, over 5,500 purchase of tickets have brought in €27,500. An amount like this would be sufficient to cover the operating costs.

As per Venice Mayor Luigi Brugnaro, the introduction of a fee like this is a first of its kind experiment. An experiment like this is aimed at lessening the crowd and encouraging longer stays. Moreover, the technique will improve the quality of life of the locals in Venice. A technique like this will also prove to be beneficial in order to control visitor flows. However, there are some privacy-related issues as well that have come up.