In 2025, Venice plans to double the number of days it charges tourists an entrance fee, following a successful trial run last year, according to Mayor Luigi Brugnaro. He emphasized that the goal is to discourage large crowds from overwhelming the city, aiming to afford Venice the respect it deserves.
Visitors who make advance reservations will need to pay €5 (approximately $5.41) to access the city on select days between April and July. This fee increases to €10 for those who book less than four days in advance. The fee was initially introduced last April and was applied on 29 days, primarily weekends and public holidays, over the course of four months.
The new plan will implement the entrance charge every Friday to Sunday, as well as on public holidays, from April 18 to July 27, 2025, amounting to a total of 54 days. All visitors aged 14 and older will need to pay the charge through their phones and present a QR code to inspectors, who will conduct random checks at common entry points like the train station. Those without tickets risk receiving a fine.
Exemptions will remain in place for individuals with hotel or guesthouse reservations, residents of the Veneto region, students at Venice’s university, and those visiting friends or family in the city.
Simone Venturini, a city councilor, noted that Venice has shifted from being heavily criticized for overtourism to becoming a proactive leader in addressing this issue on a global scale. Reports suggest that during the first eight days of the initial trial in April, Venice authorities collected what they expected to earn in three months. By the end of the trial period in mid-July, the city had amassed approximately €2.4 million ($2.5 million) in entrance fees.
However, Mayor Brugnaro indicated that further analysis was needed to determine if the revenue from the scheme would cover its costs, which included around €3 million for the ticket booking platform and related communications.
Opposition councilor Giovanni Andrea Martini criticized the entrance fee system as a “failure,” stating that it did not effectively disperse tourist traffic throughout the city. He argued that raising the fee from €5 to €10 would be “useless” and could transform Venice into a mere museum.
In light of ongoing challenges, such as climate change and mass tourism, last year UNESCO recommended that Venice be placed on a list of World Heritage sites in danger. Additionally, in 2021, large cruise ships were banned from entering the historic center of Venice after a ship collided with a harbor, as concerns grew about pollution and the erosion of the city’s foundations which suffer from frequent flooding.
