Entry into one of Italy’s most beautiful cities will now come with an additional cost.
Tourists will have to pay an entry fee between €3 and €10 starting in May, the Local Italy reports. The price depends on the time of year visitors are traveling. Low season travel will cost a flat rate of €3, €6 most of the year, €8 in high season and €10 on days of exceptional overcrowding.
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“It’s the only way to count the number of people visiting Venice,” Mayor Luigi Brugnaro told the Local. “No one will be denied access, but it will be more complicated for those who don’t book.”
The goal of the fee is to offset the costs of damage incurred by tourists each year.
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Visitors who pay the city tax through their hotels will not occur an additional charge. The tax is targeted toward those who take day-trips to Venice who
City officials estimate that a million visitors enjoy the city each year without paying the tax.
On average, Venice incurs a costs of €41 million annually for cleaning, waste removal, maintaining its bridges, and cultural heritage, according to a statement from the city council. City officials said these expenses should not fall on the shoulders of Venice residents and that the new tax would “make the city more livable for those who already live there, and more attractive for those who choose to come.”
The tax will be collected by the transport carriers that bring people into the city through buses, chauffeurs, taxis, and air carriers that land at Nicelli del Lido airport.
Children under 7, people with disabilities, relatives of residents, second-home owners, people who live elsewhere in the Veneto region and members of the armed forces are expected to be exempt from paying the entry tax.
Not paying the tax will result in fines that cost anywhere between €100 to €400.
