Upon leaving the Santa Lucia station, the one that connects Venice with the tracks of the rest of the Italian peninsula, a legion of men and women in colored overalls point out that the city of canals has just become a unique case in the world : It is the first to charge –5 euros, for the moment– to tourists who want to walk through the streets without having booked a hotel.
A week has passed since Venice launched its famous access toll, without any revolt. “Madam, can you show me your QR code?” asks a municipal employee, raising his mobile phone in his hand. “We are not issuing fines. At the moment everyone is collaborating, or hiding well,” he explains, while he scans code after code.
Three different queues form between the steps of the station and the waters of the Grand Canal. The first, for tourists, those who must pay the 5 euros or who have a hotel reservation, so it is not necessary because they have already paid the tourist tax. The second, for those exempt, among friends and family of Venetians, residents of the Veneto region or workers. And the third, for those who are lagging behind or clumsy with technology, who can buy it directly at counters.
“If this happened in Athens, a revolution would break out,” says the Greek Yorgos, who has just spent 15 euros to pay for Venice tickets for himself, his wife and his eldest son. The little one, since he is under 14 years old, passes for free. “It’s crazy to pay to enter the city. Have we returned to the Middle Ages,” he asks.
A family from Indiana has it tougher. There are eight, therefore, 40 euros. Patty, the matriarch, who was unaware of the Venetian experiment, is furious. “I don’t think they should tax us to go down the street. Here they can do it because we have no choice but to pay, we are surrounded by water,” she says, pointing to the magnificent Descalzos bridge.
“I’m just saying that I hope our money goes to the people of Venice and not to the Pope,” says one Californian, reasoning that “since the Pope lives in Italy, don’t be surprised if he keeps the money.” “Since I have paid, I hope they treat me well,” he warns. There are all kinds of reactions to the Venetian box office. There is the diligent tourist, the one who runs, pushing his entire family, to demonstrate to the authority in the yellow overalls that he has paid correctly before being questioned. Others – especially groups of young Italians – quicken their pace to avoid the guards. If they are caught, they can face up to a 300 euro fine. A couple fights with the web while their son cries inconsolably rolling on the floor.
“99% of Venetians are against the entrance ticket,” says Matteo Secchi, founder of Venessia.com, a citizen association famous for its original actions against mass tourism. The latest thing they have done is place loudspeakers in different parts of the city to send – false – warnings to tourists that if they are not satisfied with Venice they can ask for a refund. “We feel like monkeys in a zoo. We are against the ticket because Venice is a city, not a theme park. This is not Disneyland,” he emphasizes.
In the first week of application of the ticket – this 2024 it operates on 29 peak tourist days – Venice has not managed to reduce the number of tourists, since between 15,000 and 23,000 people have paid the 5 euros toll each day. In the end, the symbolic figure does not dissuade anyone from experiencing its wonders first-hand, and it is possible that the municipal officials of the City Council will decide to increase it after having studied it calmly for a few months. “We are happy with how it is going because we are more interested in the fact that it worked. It is evident that we were not planning to solve the problem of mass tourism in a few days, we wanted to see if the system could hold up,” defends the Budget Manager of the Venice City Council, Michele Zuin. “What they should do – says Marco Gasparinetti, opposition councilor – is put a limit on the tickets available, because our physical space does not allow us to receive so many visitors,” he maintains.
Although some 20,000 people pay the five-euro bill every day, another 50,000 guests have hotel reservations. In addition to those from the Veneto region. Therefore, tourists already far exceed the barely 49,000 inhabitants that remain in Venice, a city that has lost 14,000 residents in 20 years and is destined to perish if it does not change course. In fact, the entrance ticket is the response to UNESCO’s threats to place Venice on the black list of world heritage sites in danger. Some 1,900 apartments are about to be released, and Gasparinetti’s great fear is that more investors will buy them and turn them into more tourist apartments.
At four in the afternoon, the agents leave because the time to check the QR codes has ended. Then only the dungarees of men who offer water taxi transfers to hotels remain. “Minimum 70 euros for two people,” they report. It is another type of toll.