Venice day-trippers will face steep fines if they don’t pay fee designed to combat overtourism

05.04.2024 - 22:41 / euronews.com / Rebecca Ann Hughes / Luigi Brugnaro

Day-trippers to Venice who fail to pay the €5 to enter the lagoon city’s historic centre will face fines starting at 10 times the entrance fee, officials said on Thursday.

The payment system is being launched later this month for a time-limited pilot program.

Venice announced last year it would introduce the long-discussed day-tripper fee after the city narrowly escaped being placed on the UN’s list of endangered heritage sites, due largely to the impact of overtourism.

Visitors staying overnight in the historic centre are exempt from the charge as they already pay a tourist tax.

Officials have avoided calling the new charge a tax, opting for softer words like contribution.

They have also downplayed the possibility of waits to enter the city, emphasising there will be no turnstiles or physical barriers.

But during a press briefing, Mayor Luigi Brugnaro suggested lines could form at the official entry points, and used the word tax to describe the fee.

Brugnaro said personnel have been trained to verify that tourists who are not staying in Venice have either a QR code confirming payment of the fee or an exemption voucher.

Visitors arriving at the main train and bus stations will first be met by stewards who will remind tourists of the new requirement and help anyone who hasn’t yet downloaded the QR code.

Payment points will be set up for anyone without a smartphone.

Brugnaro said that anyone found beyond designated control points without the required documentation will be subject to fines.

These will range from €50 to €300, plus the maximum entrance fee allowed by law, set at €10.

“There is no tax without controls,’’ Brugnaro told foreign reporters in Rome. Visitors will be subject to random, not systematic, checks, he said.

“If someone turns himself into Batman and tries to enter, and enters all the same, he will not win a medal from me, but we will simply thank him for his rudeness,’’ the mayor said.

Officials have emphasised that the programme aims to reduce crowds on peak days, encourage longer visits and improve the quality of life for residents.

The fee is not required for anyone staying in Venice, including the mainland districts of Marghera and Mestre. Venice’s islands, including glass-making Murano, are also outside the pilot program.

The fee is being tested on 29 days, starting with an Italian national holiday on 25 April. It will be in place through to mid-July, including most weekends, from 8:30 am to 4 pm.

No maximum number of visitors has been set in this phase.

Venice is launching an advertising campaign to inform visitors of the new obligation, featuring Brugnaro speaking a variety of languages aided by artificial intelligence. Visitors can register at the website, www.cda.ve.it, which is operating in