Whoever goes to Venice this year just for a day will pay three euros for entry

Venice - The city council of Venice has voted to introduce a tax that tourists will pay if they spend only one day in the city and do not stay overnight. This was reported today by the Reuters agency, citing the mayor of Venice. The collected money will go towards the maintenance of the city. This year, day visitors will pay three euros (77 CZK) for visiting Venice, and in subsequent years, the fee will be higher.

The vast majority of council members supported the introduction of the entry fee at Tuesday's meeting. Beginning next year, the amount will increase to six to ten euros (154 to 255 CZK) depending on the tourist season. According to Mayor Luigi Brugnaro, the entry fee will likely be included in the ticket price of the companies that transport tourists to Venice.

Those who spend the night in the lagoon city will be exempt from the fee - local hotels take it into account in the accommodation price, as well as children under six years old.

The population of Venetians has significantly decreased in recent decades. While 175,000 people lived here after World War II, today there are about 50,000 remaining in the city.

Due to the enormous number of visitors, according to Mayor Brugnaro, Venice pays 30 million euros (769 million CZK) more each year for city cleaning than comparably sized historical cities.

The lagoon city is visited by 25 million tourists annually, of which 14 million spend only one day here. Many of them bring snacks with them, thus contributing nothing to the local economy.

At the beginning of February, the city council decided that starting in 2022, tourists will have to reserve their stay in the lagoon city - only a limited number of visitors will be allowed.