Day fees to visit Venice in force from today in move locals say is ‘turning city into theme park’

Visitors to the Italian city of Venice will have to pay an entry fee from today in a bid to combat over-tourism – but residents are protesting, saying charging to enter a city "transforms it into a theme park".

Signs advising arriving visitors of the new requirement for a test phase of 29 days have been erected outside the main train station and other points of arrival.

Venice, which is just 2.7 square miles in size, has struggled with a huge influx of tourists. The city hosted almost 13 million tourists in 2019, according to the Italian national statistics institute. It is expected the number of visitors will this year return to pre-pandemic levels.

Tourists stand as they wait to pass controls in front of the Santa Lucia railway station in Venice. Visitors entering the UNESCO World Heritage site for one day have to buy a five-euro ticket from today.

Earlier this year, Unesco said the city should be added to a list of world heritage sites in danger, as the impact of climate change and mass tourism threaten irreversible changes to Venice. However, locals claim the fee will not help to alleviate the problem for residents.

Matteo Secchi, of residents’ activist group Venessia.com, said the fee created “a bad image for Venice”.

“I can tell you that almost the entire city is against it,” he said. “You can’t impose an entrance fee to a city. All they’re doing is transforming it into a theme park."

Visitors have to pay the €5 (£4.28) fee by downloading a QR code. A kiosk has been set up for those not equipped with a smartphone.

Get a daily digest of news from around the globe with The World Explained newsletter

Once past designated entry ports, officials will carry out random checks for QR codes that show the day-tripper tax has been paid or if the bearer is exempt.

Anyone found breaking the rules is subject to a fine of €50-€300 (£53-£257). The requirement applies only for people arriving between 8.30am and 4pm on any day. Outside of those hours, access is free.

“We need to find a new balance between the tourists and residents,” said the city’s top tourism official, Simone Venturini. “We need to safeguard the spaces of the residents, of course, and we need to discourage the arrival of day-trippers on some particular days.”