The city charging visitors to enter

With the recent announcement that Venice will become the first city in the world to charge daytripper visitors, BBC Travel talks to authorities and locals to find out more.

Over the past three decades, Venice has become one of the most notable victims of overtourism. The city currently welcomes an estimated 30 million visitors per year, far above the 50,000 residents that actually call it home. And more than two-thirds of visitors come just for the day.

This month, Venice's municipal authorities announced plans to fight these issues with a controversial move: charging day trippers a €5 entrance fee. This will make Venice the first city in the world to charge visitors to enter its premises.

Day trippers usually head straight for landmarks such as the Rialto Bridge. Credit: Eye35/Alamy

Venice will select 30 dates, starting in spring 2024, to apply the entry fee. They have not yet been announced but will coincide with peak tourism periods to deter people from coming during particularly busy days.

The entrance fee will be applied to visitors coming to Venice for the day and will only affect Venice's historic city centre (excluding nearby islands like Murano). According to a list of rules published by the local government, exempted categories include visitors who stay overnight, residents of Venice and the wider Veneto region, family members of local residents, people coming in for work or volunteering reasons, students enrolled in Venice's universities, athletes visiting Venice for sports events and minors under the age of 14.

The proposed entry fee will affect all day trippers to Venice's historic city centre. Credit: Thierry Hennet/Getty Images

Day trippers will need to register on a soon-to-be-launched portal and pay the €5 fee. The portal will generate a downloadable QR code that will certify that the fee has been paid and it will be enforced by local authorities who will randomly check people and ask to show the code.

During the trial, people will also be allowed to pay on the spot if stopped by authorities without the code. Even people that are exempt from the fee, like residents of the wider Veneto region, will need to register.

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