Venice Introduces 'City Entrance Fee,' Charging 7,000 Won Per Day-Trip Tourist...

Temporary Pilot Implementation from April to July
Charges Imposed on Tourists Not Staying Overnight

Venice, Italy's representative tourist city, will start charging an entrance fee to day-trip tourists from the 25th (local time).

Entrance fee of 7,000 KRW charged to 'day-trip' tourists... Free entry for stays of one night or more, fines imposed if fee not paid

Tourists flocking to Venice. [Image source=Captured from Italy's ANSA news agency]

This system, introduced on a trial basis to address the issue of overtourism, will be implemented for a total of 29 days centered around Italian public holidays and weekends from April 25 to July 14 this year, starting on Italy's Liberation Day. Therefore, tourists visiting Venice as day-trippers without staying overnight must pay a city entrance fee of 5 euros (approximately 7,000 KRW). Residents of the historic district of Venice, people visiting for work, study, or medical reasons, residents of the Veneto region to which Venice belongs, youth under 14 years old, and people with disabilities are exempt from the entrance fee. Visitors can download a QR code after paying the entrance fee according to the instructions on the official website. Tourists staying one night or more will be issued a free QR code.

The city authorities plan to station inspectors at major points in Venice, such as Santa Lucia Station. These inspectors will randomly check tourists' QR codes. If caught by inspectors without paying the entrance fee, a fine of 50 to 300 euros (approximately 70,000 to 440,000 KRW) may be imposed.

Soaring housing prices, privacy invasion, and World Heritage damage lead to drastic measures... Some criticize the effectiveness

On the 19th (local time), a person is showing a paid day-of-the-week calendar at Santa Lucia Station in Venice. The city of Venice plans to charge a 5 euro (approximately 7,000 won) entrance fee for day-trippers starting from the 25th to reduce the number of tourists.

The city authorities aim to disperse crowds by charging entrance fees on public holidays and weekends to encourage tourists to visit on relatively quiet weekdays. Also, no entrance fee will be charged during the low season in winter.

Luigi Brugnaro, mayor of Venice, said, "This is an experiment never attempted anywhere else in the world," adding, "Our goal is to make Venice a better place to live." Venice, known as a world-famous tourist destination and a beautiful city of water, recorded over 20 million visitors last year. It is estimated that an average of 40,000 people visit Venice daily during the peak season.

Because of this, the residents of Venice are suffering from noise, privacy invasion, and soaring housing prices. As more residents leave due to the influx of tourists, the population within the historic district of Venice has decreased from over 130,000 in 1961 to less than 50,000 as of August last year. Venice, considered one of the most beautiful cities in the world and listed as a World Heritage site, narrowly avoided being placed on the "World Heritage in Danger" list. As the entire city turned into a massive tourist set, the Venice authorities finally took drastic measures. It was reported that Venice is the first major city in the world to introduce an entrance fee, and other cities struggling with overtourism are closely watching this move.

However, there is debate over whether the 5-euro entrance fee is sufficient to curb the number of tourists. Local media also report that some mock Venice for becoming a "Disneyland," as the entrance fee is charged like at movie theaters or amusement parks.