Venice introduces an entrance fee in 2024
After years of fierce public debate, Venice has introduced a (trial of the) 5 euro entrance fee. Let’s discuss now the first results are in
The scope of the fee
Anyone visiting Venice for a day trip will be subject to the fee. And yes, there are a ton of exceptions (overnight visitors, students, workers and of course residents), but the fee went into force first on the 25th of April. It’s worth noting it’s still a trial with a limited number of days covered, 18 in total. The fee is to be paid between 08:30 and 16:00.
𝗙𝗶𝗿𝘀𝘁 𝗿𝗲𝘀𝘂𝗹𝘁𝘀
From a revenue point of view I cannot see otherwise than that the fee is huge success; 977.430 euro in only 11 days. If we would extrapolate that, assuming 200 days in a year would at least bring in the same number of guests, it would generate almost 18 million euros in additional revenue. However, driving revenue is not the (primary) objective, it is control of the huge number of visitors.
𝗛𝗼𝘄 𝗺𝗮𝗻𝘆 𝗶𝘀 𝘁𝗼𝗼 𝗺𝗮𝗻𝘆
A well-known concept used to answer this question is by looking at ‘’carrying capacity’’. A definition would be the maximum number of people or activities that it can support sustainably, without degrading its infrastructure, environment, economy, and quality of life. Apart from the subjectivity of some of these criteria, from what I know the municipality of Venice has not (yet) defined a desired (or maximum) number of visitors. Which could fuel debate whether it is just an additional tax measure? Or is the municipality just collecting valuable data for now, to enhance their policy later on?
𝗜𝘁 𝗼𝗻𝗹𝘆 𝗻𝗲𝗲𝗱𝘀 𝗮 𝗳𝗲𝘄 𝘁𝗼 𝗹𝗲𝗮𝗱
What I personally feel is the most interesting of all, is the fact that the fee is there. Venice dragged its feet for years, but eventually pushed through. For sure Florence, Barcelona, Amsterdam and many others are following this development closely. And yes, Venice has the advantage of being surrounded by water, which makes access control easier. But, even without constraining physical access, destinations have many options to make a visit less attractive.
𝗔𝗰𝗰𝗲𝘀𝘀 𝗳𝗲𝗲𝘀 𝟮.𝟬
Access fees is just one measure. Access tokens paired with a city card, which is needed for being able to buy tickets to museums, concerts, or even popular restaurants could be another. Many might say this will never happen, but I think it will be reality much earlier than we expect. Venice has only started to pave the way; others will follow soon and will be tempted to push the boundary. One step at a time.
