The City Council today gave the go-ahead to the amendment with the final version of the resolution establishing the "Regulation for establishing and governing the Entry Fee, with or without carrier, to the Old City of the Municipality of Venice and the other smaller Islands of the Lagoon". The resolution will now be sent to the relevant commissions and will be submitted to the City Council for approval on 12 September.

The measure sets out the guidelines for the introduction of a new system for managing tourist flows, defining general principles, exclusions, exemptions, controls and sanctions, through a multi-channel and multi-language platform that will be made available shortly. The aim is to disincentivise daily tourism in certain periods, in line with the fragility and uniqueness of the City. The test for 2024 will last about 30 days, to be defined by the Council with a special calendar in the coming weeks. In general, it will focus on spring bank holidays and summer weekends.

Who will have to pay the Entry Fee?
Specifically, it has been established that the Entry Fee will have to be paid by every individual over the age of 14 who enters the Old City of the Municipality of Venice, unless they fall into the categories of exclusions and exemptions. In general, the fee will be charged to day visitors.

Who will be excluded from paying?
According to the law, residents in the Municipality of Venice, workers (employees or self-employed), including commuters, students of any schools and universities located in the Old City or in the smaller islands, individuals and family members of those who have paid IMU (local property tax) in the Municipality of Venice will not have to pay the Entry Fee.

Who will be exempt from paying?
Exempt from payment of the Entry Fee are those who stay in accommodation facilities located in the municipal territory (overnight tourists), residents of the Veneto Region, children up to 14 years of age, those in need of care, those taking part in sporting competitions, police officers on duty, the spouse, cohabiting partner, relatives or relatives-in-law up to the 3rd degree of kin of residents in areas where the Entry Fee applies, and a further series of exemptions set out in the Regulations. After approval by the City Council, in fact, a further resolution of the Council will define, in addition to the days covered by the fee, specific details and information, such as the exemption for all the smaller islands of the Lagoon, the time intervals of validity of the fee and its value, which will initially be set at EUR 5. In that resolution, the Council will also define the compulsory booking methods for some exemption categories, in smart and telematic mode. For example, all Veneto residents will not pay any fee, but will be obliged to book their trip on the appropriate portal.

"After having listened to the citizens through an online consultation, and having taken on board some indications during the internal debate within the City Council, we have drawn up an integration to the original version of the Entry Fee,' explains the Tourism Councillor Simone Venturini. 'We have done this in the conviction that the idea of booking the city should be as participatory as possible. We thus set ourselves as a forerunner worldwide, aware of the urgency of finding a new balance between the rights of those who live, study or work in Venice and those who visit the city. This is why, at certain times and on certain days, innovative flow management is required, capable of putting a brake on day-to-day tourism. From today we begin a journey that we undertake with humility, aware that there will be problems to solve and obstacles to overcome. No one showed us the way before, we are tracing it in the conviction that tourism management is a priority for the future of our city. A city that will always remain open to everyone. The possibility to book admission in fact is not a tool for making cash (on the contrary, it will only cover the system-related costs) but will give residents a better quality of life and overnight tourists a more vivid visit. After a long and difficult process, the time has come to take concrete actions, as we are used to doing'.

"With the utmost humility we will be ready to adjust the measure, with a series of resolutions of the Council, aimed at defining how to implement the Regulation," continued Budget Councillor Michele Zuin. "This is a significant turning point in the management of tourist flows in Venice, which is experimental, and for this reason we will initiate a continuous and direct dialogue with all the economic and social categories to monitor together its short and medium-term effects, with a view to involving all the stakeholders. The exemptions follow common-sense rules to guarantee access to Venice to those who work, study, have loved ones, have health needs, or must travel by necessity to the regional capital, which hosts so many administrative functions. The message we want to give is that Venice is accessible, open, but visitors, both national and international, must understand that planning is needed to better manage the balance between residents and tourists".

Video contribution (the Councilor for Tourism Simone Venturini's speech): https://we.tl/t-BzCAaD
Video contribution (the Councilor for Budget Michele Zuin's speech): https://we.tl/t-APsZaCZBiY

Venice, 5th September 2023