The canals of Venice, Italy have attracted millions of tourists each year and with this influx of foreign travelers comes extensive consequences that would increasingly put Venetian’s global landmark and home at risk.
Venice has been sinking annually at a rate of 1 mm per year, which can be reduced if climate change and global warming’s impact are minimized. A majority of Venetians have moved out of their beloved native city due to the massive amount of tourists that come to Italy each month, which surpassed 100,000 visitors a day in 2019.
International tourists have been limited in coming to Europe because of certain country’s COVID-19 restrictions. Major European cities like Venice can put in more restrictive tourism measures to protect their ecosystem from collapsing and historical sites from being tarnished.
In late 2022, Venice will incorporate gate turnstiles to lessen the likelihood of over tourism from occurring in the city’s famous piazzas (or public squares) and their web-like calli(s) (streets).
The electronic monitoring gates will be implemented in various parts of Venice, Italy to control crowds and there will be a low-cost fee to enter these designated areas. The entry price points will range from €3 to €10 and there will be an included booking app where foreign travelers can book visits in advance to some of Italy’s most populated tourist hotspots.
However, local Venetians, workers, and students will be waived from paying the entrance fee and any tourist who decides to stay at one of the many remarkable Venetian Hotels.
The magical city of Venice features water tunnels and canals where residents and/or visitors can ride along the blue waters of Italy. This body-of-water that is interconnected throughout the European major city was deemed a national monument so that the state’s government can protect the land the city of Venice floats on.
The entire city model of evaluating how many visitors fly to Venice annually is to prevent day trippers from arriving in the city because overnight stays boost the economy and taxes paid at local hotels exempt travelers from the oncoming $11 entrance fee.
The local administration of Venice or La Serenissima made this announcement for the second half of next year and this will help the city’s local economy and hotel entrepeneurs who live off of the thousands of daily tourists.