An entry fee may not be enough to save Venice from 20 million tourists

VENICE’S history, art and architecture attract an estimated 20 million visitors every year. The city, a Unesco World Heritage site, is often crammed with tourists in search of special memories.

But for the people who actually live there, this level of tourism has become unsustainable. So from 2024, day trippers will be charged a five euro (S$7.20) fee as part of an attempt to better manage the flow of visitors.

The city’s mayor has described the charge – which will be implemented on 30 particularly busy days in the spring and summer – as an attempt to “protect the city from mass tourism”. It comes after cruise ships were banned from entering the fragile Venice lagoon in 2021.