Bureaucracy is delaying the imminent implementation of an entry fee for Venice visitors as the local city council has not fully approved the new online admissions process, which was set to take effect from 16 January 2023.
To control crowd numbers, tourism officials announced earlier in the year that day-trippers would have to book their Venice visit online and pay a fee between €3 and €10 (AUD$4.64 and $15.47) for a pass.
Tourists planning on spending the night in Venice would not need a prior reservation to enter the canal city under the planned scheme.
According to a spokesperson for Mayor Luigi Brugnaro, the city council has not approved the necessary regulations yet, meaning the start date will be put back with the process to take at least six months.
The plan, first proposed in 2019, was postponed due to COVID-19, which kept tourists away.
However, visitors have poured back into Venice this year with outsiders often vastly outnumbering the 50,000 residents of the city centre, overwhelming the narrow alleys and putting the daily fee back on the mayor’s agenda.
Municipal authorities have long struggled with balancing Venice’s bustling tourism industry with the fragile nature of the city and its lagoon environment.
The new scheme will aim to account for the number of people in the city centre at all times.
Via AAP
