VENICE – Italy’s most cherished tourist hotspot, Venice has finally launched the payment platform used to charge the daytrippers entering the city.
Last year, Venice announced €5 (£4.20) fee for everyday trippers entering the city on certain days and the launch of the platform confirms that the administration is in the final stages of executing the plan.
As per the announcement, visitors will have to pay the fee to enter the city center during Venice’s first peak tourism period of the year which begins on April 25th and continues till May 5th.
The portal (www.cda.ve.it) can be used to pay the fee and as per the city council, visitors will also have to pay for the rest of the weekends in May and June, as well as the first two weekends of July.
Interestingly, the fee applies to all those who want to enter between 8.30 am and 4 pm, with no discounts on offer which confirms that the main motivation might not be minting money but to preserve the city and address the concerns of the residents as well.
There is no limit on the number of entries and those who pay the fee will be issued with a QR code that can be shown to the officials.
On the other hand, the violators will have to face a fine of €50-€300 and visitors staying in the city overnight are exempted, but they are required to register on the platform.
Moreover, exemptions have also been granted to residents of the Veneto region, children up to 14 years of age, those needing care, and close relatives of residents, among other categories.
The authorities had been brainstorming the plan to charge the tourists but concerns like discouraging tourists and freedom of movement postponed its execution. What triggered the implementation of the plan was UNESCO’s warning that it could list the city as an at-risk World Heritage site.
Fortunately, UNESCO did not list the city but the warning was enough for the authorities to finally decide that they will be imposing the fee to deter overtourism in the area.
