Only $5.45 ?
I thought they charge 20€ since 15 years.
That’s probably because I read an article that said “venice starts charging 20€ per day” and in the end it’s just some idiot screaming into the void and some idiotic journalist catching his dumb ideas and selling it as if it were facts. I hate modern journalism.
Whatever that was - it wasn’t journalism
The Consistory will not benefit from the introduction of the fee, as, according to tourism minister Simone Venturini, the income will only function to cover the costs of the system.
When you spend >50 million € on a basic ticketing system
Thanks for sharing, it seems like my family’s next vacation will be in Slovenia again, which is just as beautiful and less expensive/hostile.
Vacations are expensive enough without the added tourist tax.
Bit dramatic of you to call a $5.45 fee hostile. Venice is legitimately overcrowded during tourist season and has a lot of problems to deal with to even literally stay above water right now. I’m sure they won’t miss you.
If a family plans a trip that involves an international flight, accommodation and preparation, a €6 is not going to change a thing. This seems more like an easy, state-sponsored money grab than a legitimate effort to better manage over-tourism.
You can get around Europe surprisingly cheap. This tax is made so that the people you mention, who pay for hotels and services in the town are not discouraged, but the ones who just walk through spending nothing will avoid the place.
The fee will be payed only by people who stay in the city just for the day. The idea is to discourage this kind of “fast tourism” in favour of people who instead spend more days in the city (then of course, the actual efficacy of this method for reducing overcrowding is to be seen)
It’s a start though
The article says €5 “apiece” which is €60 for the whole family unless I’m wrong in my understanding? Enough money flows into the local economy without tourists needing to be forced to “contribute” even further. Thus, hostile.
Venice has been pointing to longer-term tourists as key to its survival since they tend to spend more. Brugnaro said in no way does the new day-tripper contribution discourage tourism overall, but just seeks to manage it better.
We tend to stay in Italy for 2 or 3 weeks at a time, with our lodging being in between multiple destinations in the surrounding regions. Venice is off the table if it is an extra €60 per day. It would also cost significantly more in terms of travel if lodging was also in Venice. We would rather spend the money in Piran or Koper, so the “contribution” is doing its job in managing.
For what its worth, even though we are Dutch, we refuse to visit Amsterdam for the same reason and instead stay in the surrounding cities. A tourist tax is simply a local government giving up on finding real solutions and instead is hoping to price people out of visiting. If Venetians are really worried about sinking, they can ask us for help. We have a bit of experience with keeping the sea away 😅
I mean how you describe your situation sounds like exactly what this tax is meaning to deal with. A big group of people (10 by your numbers?) who only come for the day to use the city like a free open air museum and maybe buy a meal there and then leave having added very little to the economy to the extent that you think €60 is too much to pay for your day there being a part of the extreme congestion the city has.
So if you’re not going to come anymore this seems like mission accomplished.
Amsterdam has the same problem with cruise ship tourists. They pile into the city and spend little money and create a nuisance for everyone living here. I think both cities would be much better off without day trip tourists.
No one likes tourists, what are you on about?
Say you’ve never been to Venice without saying you’ve never been to Venice.
It’s basically always overcrowded with tourists, it’s understandable that they would do something about it. All that traffic takes a toll on the streets that were already sinking even without said traffic. A 6€ fee to maintain them better is hardly a racket.
That will literally kill the city and convert it into a sort of cringe “open air museum”. I live in the region and was considering purchasing a subscription to the theater season. Costly but definitely worth it. Now on top of it I should pay 5€ for each time I attend to a show? No, thanks. I believe I’m not the only one of the locals who thinks like that.
It’s only from 8:30 to 16:00 - so you should be fine? It looks like it is targeted at all the cruise ship visitors
Please make cruise ships unviable. I really want to see this branch of tourism die.
Yeah cruise tourists are extremely fucking annoying when they pile into city centers by the 100s. I recall hearing an economic analysis being done about them in Amsterdam and the short of it was that they cost the city more than they spend here. They don’t buy hotel rooms locally and they eat the bulk of their meals aboard rather than in the city. So they’re just a drain on infrastructure and law enforcement and clog up the streets not knowing where they should and shouldn’t walk.
I also recall hearing that going on a cruise is one of the most polluting things a person can do in such a short period of time. They just need to stop being a thing at least until such a time as they are able to run on something other than fossil fuel.
They just need to stop being a thing at least until such a time as they are able to run on something other than fossil fuel.
Fun fact, cruise ships almost universally have electric propulsion.
Also fun fact: they get the electricity by lugging around multiple fossil fuel powered generators.
Interesting. I wonder what the benefit of that is. I guess maybe spreading the fuel burn across times when they are and aren’t in motion? Maybe it’s also quieter?
I believe it’s mostly because it allows you to use electric motors mounted on swiveling pods under the water line. The same thing with mechanical propulsion is tricky because of leaky shaft connections.
But apparently there are more advantages:
That’s pretty neat
You can think of it as an electric transmission instead of mechanical gears.
I read that residents in the region don’t need to pay, only to book the visit through their app. Also, at least for now the ticket will be needed only for specific dates, mostly the weekends
convert it into a sort of cringe “open air museum”
So, it would change essentially nothing?
