Venice implements day visitor fee

To tackle overtourism, starting today, Venice will charge its day visitors a little over $5 to visit the historic city during peak times.

Scheduled to run till mid-July, the visitor fee will be enforced on 29 peak days, mainly national holidays and weekends, with exemptions for residents, students and overnight tourists.

The fee aims to ease the strain on the city’s delicate infrastructure and local community caused by the influx of tourists. Venice has become the first major city to charge a fee for entry.

Last year, Venice escaped from being added to UNESCO’s list of Endangered World Heritage Sites, whose experts are concerned that the authorities are not doing enough to protect the city.

But Venetians are protesting the move, saying it is turning the city into a “theme park.” They argue the meager fee won’t solve the root issues of mass tourism.

Though its population is fewer than 50,000, Venice hosted 20 million visitors last year. City officials say that such large-scale tourism makes it difficult for residents and visitors to “live in this city.”