Loved for its romantic canals, classical music, and sheer beauty, the Italian city of Venice is inundated with tourists. We reported earlier this year about the intended Venice daytripper tax.
A test phase took place last July and generated 2.4 million euros (£2 million) paid by the 1,000 visitors on each of the test days. Deemed a success, the €5 tax is going ahead and it will even increase to €10 for last-minute visitors.
According to Venice Mayor Luigi Brugnaro, the tax is being levied to counter over-tourism, especially at weekends and peak holiday times when the city is too crowded. The mayor said:
“Venice is an ancient city, a fragile city with 1,600 years of history. We need to protect her. Venice is the first city in the world that tries to manage the problem of over-tourism, we obtained important results”.
The city welcomed a staggering an estimated 25 million to 30 million annual arrivals of both day-trippers and overnight guests since 2020.
The pilot scheme is scheduled for April 18 2025 and run until July 27. The fee will apply to Fridays, weekends and holidays. In all the fee will be payable for 54 days in the year and is enforceable between the hours of 8.30am to 4pm.
Children under 14 years, residents, Venetian-born visitors, students and workers, as well as tourists who have hotel or other lodging reservations will be exempt.
How to pay the Venice Daytripper fee
Those wanting to visit the historic heart of Venice, (does not include Piazzale Roma transport access area and the offshore islands) between 8.30am and 4pm on eligibile days should register online at cda.ve.it. You will get a QR code to show on your smarphone or print it out – you will need this to enter.
It is a simple process. The home page offers a “Pay the access fee” link – just follow the online journey.