Venice is rolling out new measures to try to regulate overtourism. The town hall of the City of Doges made public on Thursday the timetable for the application of its new tax of 5 euros. This will only target day visitors entering the city between 8:30 a.m. and 4:30 p.m. This toll will be in effect for 29 days in 2024, a priori the busiest. The first dates concerned, therefore concentrated on the high tourist season, are from April 25 to May 5, then it will be the turn of the weekends in May (11 and 12, 18 and 19 and 25 and 26) , in June (8 and 9, 15 and 16, 22 and 23 and 29 and 30), as well as two weekends in July (6 and 7 and 13 and 14).
“It is not a revolution but the first step in a system that regulates the access of day visitors,” explains Mayor Luigi Brugnaro in a press release. “It’s an experiment whose objective is to improve the quality of life in the city, for those who live there and those who work there,” specifies the elected official. According to the mayor, Venice is the first city in the world to implement this toll system. Luigi Brugnaro says he is ready to modify it to improve the procedure if necessary.
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The objective is to dissuade day visitors who contribute to congesting the city. The Serenissima narrowly escaped being listed as a UNESCO world heritage site in danger in mid-September. Experts from the UN institution had, however, recommended the classification as “in danger” due to overtourism and “insufficient” measures taken in Italy to combat the deterioration of this jewel.