From the month of June of 2024, the relevant authorities in Venice have said that they will be placing bans on tourist groups.
As a result, groups of travelers that include more than 25 people will not be permitted in the city.
Moreover, visitors will not be allowed to bring or use loudspeakers in public spaces in Venice.
These steps have been taken by the government authorities to curb the consistent rise in the travel and tourism sector in the city.
Bans
According to a statement released by the relevant Venetian authorities, the use of loudspeakers in public tends to cause disturbance and confusion.
On this note, Elisabetta Pesce, the official in charge of security in the city, stated that the latest changes have been made to boost the peace.
According to her, these steps will improve the quality of tourist groups that often visit the historic center in Venice and the popular islands of Burano, Torcello, and Murano.
In addition to the measures taken in the current year, the authorities in Venice took various steps in the previous year as well.
They unveiled various plans back then to introduce a fee of €5 for international travelers to the city.
This decision was confirmed by Luigi Brugnaor, the Mayor of Venice, who added that the fee would be levied from the spring of the current year.
However, he emphasized that this was not going to be permanent for now. The authorities confirmed that the fee charge would initially be implemented for a 30-day period as an experiment.
The fee
The initial fee that was proposed by the authorities was €10 but was soon cut down by half.
Soon after, Simone Venturini, the City Councilor for Tourism, took note of the adjustment, explaining that it was cut down after the proposals of citizens were taken into account, as well as the opinion of opposition councilors.
According to Simone, this decision was taken in urgency to find a balance between the rights of the people who visit the city and those who study, work, and live in Venice.
Consequently, the City Councilor believes that this was the right step toward the city setting itself up as global frontrunner in the travel and tourism sector.
By implementing the measure, the city has now become the first to implement a fee on daytripper visitors.
Tourism
On account of the increasing tourism and the consequences of climate change, the United Nations Educational, Scientific, and Cultural Organization (UNESCO) made plans in August of 2023 to protect the city.
Consequently, it was suggested that Venice should be placed on the World Heritage in Danger list of the UNESCO that includes various locations that are subject to specific and serious dangers.
On this note, a vote took place in September to solidify this decision. But the city managed to not be on the list, especially due to its much-anticipated plan to levy an entrance fee for day trippers from 2024.
The city officials were not on board with UNESCO’s plan and celebrated when the vote went their way.
