Venice is famously lovely and infamously delicate. Built on partially reclaimed marshlands, with buildings constructed directly over the water, the city has always been under threat and, as sea levels rise, this only becomes more pertinent. Despite this, Venice continues to fight back and live on and protect their city by all sorts of measures, including a new fee and booking system to enter the city that will be introduced later this year.
Should you wish to plan a vacation in Venice and pay a visit, you will potentially take in some uniquely Venetian sights caused by its unusual structure and origins, such as half-flooded bookshops still going about business as per usual and tourists sipping cups of coffee while their legs are encased in protective plastic boots and are lapped by water. For those willing to quite literally go with the flow of it all and to embrace all of the eccentricities and adventures of a holiday in Venice for what it is and the singular experiences that it can offer, this can add to the charm and allow for the making of some rather special memories. However, it is also cause for constant concern and planning, of course, for the city and all of its inhabitants.
Fuelled by these very concerns and the trend in recent years for Venice to flood daily in a different kind of way – with tourists disembarking from massive cruise ships to spend only a few hours in the city before suddenly leaving once more – there have been some new measures considered to help protect the city. 2022 is the year that will see the introduction of one of the main initiatives among these measures: the establishment of a fee and booking system for those wishing to enter the city of Venice, though no exact date has yet been announced.
The fee is set to be nominal, at only 5 euros per person, but it will have to be paid when a booking is made and done so in advance of one’s visit. Entry without payment of this fee, other than by residents of the city, will not be allowed once it is introduced in the coming months. In fact, there are over 500 cameras being expressly set up all over the city in order to prevent unauthorised entry. While this may seem like a somewhat strange concept, at first, the city is confident that it will work towards helping them tackle the so-called, “hit-and-run,” tourism of cruise ship visitors who often bring little business to the city and can be highly disruptive to daily and cultural life in Venice. It will also curb the total number of visitors allowed into the city each day as there will be a maximum allowed and once this has been reached, no more will be permitted.
According to Simone Venturini, the deputy mayor for tourism of Venice, when speaking to Euronews, "The aim is to discourage one-day tourism, hit-and-run tourism, arriving in one day and leaving in the same day, tiring and stressing the city, and encouraging slower tourism instead." So, for those who have found a vacation rental in Venice and are planning on spending the majority of their holiday in the city, there should be little change to their experience.
If, however, you have decided on one of our holiday rentals in Veneto and were thinking about taking a day-trip or two into the city, then you will just need to ensure that you plan and book in advance if you want to see the city for yourself. Although, again, in this scenario it should not be too much of an inconvenience. And I am sure that we could all agree that any methods to try and protect this unique and magical place in Italy for as long as is possible are surely all for the best.