MILAN (AP) — Venice's new mayor is proposing a dynamic pricing system for the city's three-year-old day-tripper access fee, seeking government approval to raise the charge to as much as 50 euros ($59) on the busiest days to ease overcrowding in the UNESCO world heritage city.
Mayor Simone Venturini told The ***** ociated Press in an interview Friday that the current 10-euro fee for last-minute reservations has not done enough to discourage visitors on peak days. Instead of imposing a fixed higher fee, the city wants to enact a form of surge-pricing, allowing the charge to rise with demand on the busiest days.
Venturini said the system would both discourage overcrowding and help cover the costs of maintaining the city.
"We spend 100 million euros a year just to maintain Venice physically, and ***** ody gives us that money. Not Europe. Not the Italian state. International critics don't pay it either. It's paid by the people of Venice, and in part through tourism taxes," said Venturini, who was elected mayor last month after serving as the city's top tourism official when the day-tripper tax was launched in 2024.
The access fee itself has been widely criticized by activists, housing advocates and opposition politicians for not doing enough to ease crowding in the city, while reducing Venice to a tourist attraction by charging admission. They also say the focus is too much on managing tourist flows, and not enough on bringing more residents back to the historic part of the city.
Mayor Simone Venturini told The ***** ociated Press in an interview Friday that the current 10-euro fee for last-minute reservations has not done enough to discourage visitors on peak days. Instead of imposing a fixed higher fee, the city wants to enact a form of surge-pricing, allowing the charge to rise with demand on the busiest days.
Venturini said the system would both discourage overcrowding and help cover the costs of maintaining the city.
"We spend 100 million euros a year just to maintain Venice physically, and ***** ody gives us that money. Not Europe. Not the Italian state. International critics don't pay it either. It's paid by the people of Venice, and in part through tourism taxes," said Venturini, who was elected mayor last month after serving as the city's top tourism official when the day-tripper tax was launched in 2024.
The access fee itself has been widely criticized by activists, housing advocates and opposition politicians for not doing enough to ease crowding in the city, while reducing Venice to a tourist attraction by charging admission. They also say the focus is too much on managing tourist flows, and not enough on bringing more residents back to the historic part of the city.
2 months ago
