Would You Pay An Entrance Fee To Visit Venice?
August 28th, 2006 by Pia Taylor
I read today that Venice may become the first city to charge visitors an entrance fee for the pleasure of exploring its sights.
Authorities are hoping that by charging visitors they can ‘offset the damage done to the unique architecture by hordes of holidaymakers.’
Around 50,000 tourists visit the water-logged Italian city every day (that’s around 16 million a year!), putting a huge strain on the city’s services and facilities, and no doubt making life for locals somewhat chaotic.
So, the question is, if they do start charging an entrance fee, would backpackers pay it? Would you?
Posted in Destinations, Travel News
August 28, 2006 at 11:23 am
Absolutely ridiculous!!! Backpackers and other budget travellers make up a very significant section of the travel population, and something like this will pose a barrier to entry for some.
They should rather add a proportional tax or cover charge at certain places, or claim the money from their own tax-payers who benefit from all the tourist spending in the country.
August 29, 2006 at 12:33 am
If I lived in Venice I’d want HUGE entrance fees for tourists – make them pay, I say. Poor locals have to put up with loud sightseeing see-it-all-in-one-day type tourists. That must suck.
August 29, 2006 at 4:31 am
I don’t think they’ll really go through with this, it not only affects tourists but the businesses that are supported by them too.
Unless they actually do want less backpackers, which would suck.
August 30, 2006 at 2:04 am
Wouldn’t a fee like that make Venice into a kind of theme park? Like Disney, or something…