They want it gone-dola.
Venice began charging day trippers a 5 euro ($5.36) entry fee this week, reportedly in order to protect the UNESCO World Heritage Site from the adverse effects of over-tourism — but weary locals say the measure is just a drop in the bucket, and could end up sinking the struggling city.
Angry activists took to the streets, passageways and canals of the proud former maritime republic on Thursday to protest the new scheme, saying that Venice mayor Luigi Brugnaro — who commended his own, Marco Polo-level “bravery” in making the unprecedented move — has now turned one of the world’s most romantic destinations into little more than a “theme park,” The Guardian reported.
“I can tell you that almost the entire city is against it,” claimed Matteo Secchi, who leads Venessia.com, a residents’ activist group. “You can’t impose an entrance fee to a city; all they’re doing is transforming it into a theme park. This is a bad image for Venice … I mean, are we joking?”
Venice is the first major city in the world to take the step, at a time when popular destinations around the world — from Barcelona to America’s top national parks — suffer from overexposure.
Brugnaro hoped, he said, that the fee would make the city “livable” again. Constituents instead took to the streets on Thursday to protest, saying that real action is required to correct the various issues plaguing the city of canals.
Venice has lost more than 120,000 residents since the 1950s. The local population is now typically dwarfed by the many looky-loos who crowd onto the celebrated string of urbanized islands on a daily basis.
The fee can be paid online — the traveler will then receive a QR code that can be scanned at a number of strategic entry points. Tickets can be purchased on arrival if preferred, but random checks will be carried out and fines levied — between 50 and 300 euros — for those attempting to evade the pedestrian congestion charge.
For now, the fee will only apply on a string of peak days through mid-July, while the city evaluates the program. Locals, commuters, students and children under the age of 14 are exempt, as are those who can show an overnight hotel reservation.
A spokesperson for the council told reporters that 5,550 people had booked for Thursday, the inaugural date, bringing in roughly $30,000. While the city has denied the accusation that the fee is merely a cash grab, it has promised to cut taxes if the program takes root.
Critics contend that the fee won’t even scratch the surface of the real problems facing Venice.
Federica Toninello, leader of a local housing association: “They think this measure will solve the problem, but they haven’t really understood the consequences of mass tourism on a city like Venice.
“For a start, 5 euros will do nothing to deter people. But day trippers aren’t the issue; things like the shortage of affordable housing are … What we need are policies to help residents, for example, making rules to limit things like Airbnb.”
Others were sounding a more positive note.
“It will serve to collect fundamental data and help regulate tourist flows, which during certain periods of the year risking damaging a fragile city like Venice,” said Tommaso Sichero, the president of the association for Venice shop owners, in an interview with the Avvenire newspaper.
