Venice expands day-tripper tax in an effort to combat overtourism

Venice is charging daytrippers to the famed canal city an arrivals tax for the second year starting Friday a measure aimed at combating the kind of overtourism that put the citys UNESCO World Cultural Heritage status at riskA UNESCO body decided against putting Venice on its list of cultural heritage sites deemed in danger after the tax was announced But opponents of the daytripper fee say it has done nothing to discourage tourists from visiting Venice even on hightraffic daysHeres a look at Venices battle with overtourism by the numbers510 euros about 611The fee charged to visitors who are not overnighting in Venice to enter its historic centre during the second year of the daytripper tax Visitors who download a QR code at least three days in advance will pay 5 euros 569 ndash the same amount charged last year throughout the pilot programme But those who make lastminute plans pay double The QR code is required from 830 am until 4 pm and is checked at entry points to the city including the Santa Lucia train station the Piazzale Roma bus depot and the Tronchetto parking garage54The number of days this year that day visitors to Venice will be charged a fee to enter the historic centre They include mostly weekends and holidays from April 18 to July 27 That is up from 29 last year The new calendar covers entire weeks over key holidays and extends the weekend period to include Fridays24 million eurosThat is the amount Venice took in during a 2024 pilot programme for the tax The citys top budget official Michele Zuin said last year the running costs for the new system ran to 27 million euros overshooting the total fees collected This year Zuin projects a surplus of about 1 million euros to 15 million euros which will be used to offset the cost of trash collection and other services for residents450000The number of daytrippers who paid the tax in 2024 Officials said that 12744 daytrippers paid to enter the city on Friday ndash 7173 at the higher 10euro rate They were among the 77000 who have registered so far to enter the city this year Another 117000 have registered for exemptions which apply to anyone born in Venice those paying property taxes in the city studying or working in the historic centre or living in the wider Veneto region among others75000The average number of daily visitors on the first 11 days of 2024 that Venice charged daytrippers Thats about 10000 people more than the number of tourists recorded on each of the three important holidays during the previous year City council member Giovanni Andrea Martini an opponent of the measure said the figures show the project has not deterred visitors48283The number of official residents in Venices historic centre composed of over 100 islands connected by footbridges and traversed by its famed canals The population peaked at 174000 in 1951 when Venice was home to thriving industries The number shrank during Italys postwar economic boom as residents moved to the mainland for more modern housing ndash including indoor plumbing which was lacking in Venice It has been shrinking dramatically over recent decades as local industry lost traction families sought mainland conveniences and housing prices rose Activists also blame the ldquomonoculturerdquo of tourism which they say has emptied the city of basic services like shops for everyday goods and medical care51129The number of beds for tourists in Venices historic centre including 12627 in the less regulated shortterm rental market according to April data from the Ocio housing activist group The number of tourist beds surpassed the number of permanent residents in 2023 according to Ocios monitor Anyone staying in a hotel within the city limits including on the mainland districts of Mestre and Marghera pays a lodging tax and is therefore exempt from the daytripper tax25 to 30 millionThe number of annual arrivals of both daytrippers and overnight guests roughly confirmed by cellphone data tracked from a Smart Control Room since 2020 according to city officialsThis story has been sourced from a third party syndicated feed agencies Midday accepts no responsibility or liability for its dependability trustworthiness reliability and data of the text Midday managementmiddaycom reserves the sole right to alter delete or remove without notice the content in its absolute discretion for any reason whatsoeveratOptionskeyd0ddb8ef8f1a62a8cdd22fac27fc5ea7formatiframeheight90width728params