Italy war on tourists as Venice rolls out daily tax for anyone over 14 visiting during peak times
Tourists may need to pay
PEXELS
Venice is rolling out a trial of a daily fee that will apply to all tourists and visitors to the area.
The tax will cost €5 (around £4.29) per day and will be payable by all over the age of 14.
This will be introduced in a bid to help control tourism in Venice.
Speaking this week, the mayor of Venice Luigi Brugnaro said: "Our attempt is to make a more livable city".
He added it is a "first-of-its-kind experiment" to regulate tourist flow.
Venice has long had issues with overtourism
PA
The Italian city has long had a problem with overtourism and used other methods to try and control this before.
A 30 day trial for the charge has been approved and will be enforced during peak tourist seasons next year.
This will include peak weekends and a total of 29 days between April and July. Day-trippers could also be hit with the charge.
The mayor previously said: “Regulating tourist flows in certain periods is necessary, but that does not mean closing the city. Venice will always be open to everyone.
"The objective is to discourage daily tourism in certain periods, in line with the fragility and uniqueness of the city."
The charge is not designed to make money and it has been suggested the fee is only to cover costs.
City council member Simone Venturini said: "Venice is among the most visited European cities... and suffers the most from excess tourism.
"[The charge will bring] new balance between the rights of those who live, study or work in Venice, and those who visit the city.
"The objective is to invite daily tourists to choose [off-peak] days.
"We want to test [the fee] and, if needed, improve it. We cannot discuss for [an]other 40 years what's best to do."
LATEST DEVELOPMENTS
Tourists could pay around £4.29 a day
PA
Venice is a popular tourist destination because of its stunning canals and floating city.
This has long attracted people from across the world to visit.
However, the small city is not equipped for masses of tourists and some measures have already been introduced to cut back on this.
Cruise ships were banned from stopping at the Venice lagoon in 2021.
Ships had to immediately change their itineraries to stop hoards of tourists from arriving in the city at the same time.
This comes as Britons heading to Iceland are urged to be careful amid flight cancellations and safety concerns.
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