Venice to start charging new visitor fee for tourists from June 2022

If you have ever visited the slowly sinking Italian city, you will know it's a place worth preserving.

Between the charming gondolas, ornate architecture and occasional carnival, there are countless reasons why tourists have flooded the city, year after year.

However, it hasn't been without a cost.

As a city, Venice is home to just 50,000 residents, who have (quite literally) suffered from the environmental and social impact of its popularity.

In response, the city has long attempted to implement an entry fee for visitors. After being introduced in 2018 with a planned start date of May 2019, it has since been pushed out to July 1, 2020, then January 1, 2022.

Finally, a new date, June 1, 2022, is in the calendar.

This fee is different to the 'tourist tax', which applies to those who stay overnight and is automatically added to your accommodation cost.

Those who plan to visit for just a day, must book in advance and pay a fee that ranges from $4.80 to $16

The fee will depend on what 'colour' the day is categorised:
— Grey (normal), 6€
— Green (few tourists) 3€
— Red (many tourists) 8€
— Black (crowded) 10€

On April 19, Venice mayor, Luigi Brugnaro took to Twitter to explain how implementing the booking system and fee would be "difficult" but was necessary for the city to manage tourists better.

"Today, many have understood that making the City bookable is the right way to take, for a more balanced management of tourism. We will be the first in the world in this difficult experimentation," he wrote.

The requirement for visitors to book and pay will officially run for six months with it likely to become a permanent measure from as early as January 2023.

Daily visitors will also be capped at 40,000 to 50,000.

Venice's tourism councillor, Simone Venturini told the Italian publication La Repubblica there would also be benefits and "initiatives" for tourists once they pay the fee, such as museum discounts.

Details about exemptions will also be clarified in the coming weeks.

It is expected that tourists visiting Venice for a funeral will not have to pay the fee. Nor will those staying overnight, as they will already pay a 'tourist tax'.