Venice, Italy charges 5 euros for one day tour!

BEIJING, April 26 (Reuters) - On April 25 local time, the Italian water city of Venice began to charge 5 euros for one-day visitors to the city, in order to control the peak passenger flow.

It is reported that from April 25 to mid July, Venice will charge 5 euros for one-day tourists over 14 years old on 29 peak travel days, including weekends. The ticket is valid from 8:30 a.m. to 4:00 p.m.

According to the report, tourists must make an appointment online and obtain the QR code. Those who cannot pay online can pay offline. Venetian residents, students, workers and homeowners do not need to pay or make an appointment. Tourists under 14 years old and those who have booked overnight hotels in Venice do not need to pay fees, but they still need to complete their reservations online.

According to the report, although Venice has not set up a revolving gate to check tickets, inspectors will check tickets at random and impose a fine of 50 to 300 euros on tourists who have not registered for booking.

Reuters reported that Venetian residents said that this measure would not help prevent the excessive development of tourism. During the protest, some residents said, "This is a sad day because Venice is becoming a museum and a theme park". It is reported that hundreds of people held banners to protest against the ticket policy and marched peacefully in Venice's main square.

Simone Venturini, the official in charge of tourism affairs in Venice, said that the charge for one-day tourists is still in the pilot stage, and it may be increased in some periods in the future to further control the passenger flow.

According to Reuters, this marks that Venice has become the first city in the world to charge tourists entrance fees. Other Italian cities are waiting to see the effect of Venice's New Deal.

In addition, Venice will limit the size of tour groups from June, which should be no more than 25 people, and guides are prohibited from using loudspeakers. Venice also bans large cruise ships from entering its lagoon.

Venice, located in the northeast of Italy, was included in the UNESCO World Heritage List in 1987. It is a world famous tourist attraction, and has been plagued by problems caused by too many tourists for many years. According to AFP data, the number of tourists staying in the center of Venice at the peak of tourism can reach 100000 person times, twice the number of local residents in Venice.