Venice authorities on Thursday unveiled a pilot program to charge day-trippers 5 euros ($5.45) apiece to enter the fragile lagoon city on peak weekends next year in an effort to reduce crowds, encourage longer visits and improve the quality of life for residents. The rollout of the tourist “contribution” program came after Venice, a UNESCO World Heritage site, narrowly escaped being placed on the U.N. agency’s danger list earlier this year because of the threat that overtourism was having on its delicate ecosystem. Member states cited the proposed new entry fee in deciding to spare Venice from the list. FILE PHOTO: A view of St. Mark’s Square in Venice, Italy. (AP Photo/Luca Bruno) Venice Mayor Luigi Brugnaro stressed Thursday that the fee is not a new tourist tax or an attempt t...
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Venice plans to experiment with an admission fee of 5 euros ($5.35) for day trippers next year to try to manage the flow of tourists drawn to its historic canals, the city council said on Tuesday. The fee will be applied on a trial basis on 30 days next year, focusing mainly on spring bank holidays and summer weekends when tourism numbers are at their peak. All visitors over the age of 14 will have to pay it. The aim was to find "a new balance between the rights of those who live, study or work in Venice and those who visit the city," Venice tourism councillor Simone Venturini said. It is not a money-making move, he added, saying the fee would only cover the cost of administering the scheme. FILE PHOTO: Tourists walk during a new heatwave as temperatures are expected to reach ...
Read MoreVisitors to Rome's Pantheon, one of the ancient world's best preserved monuments, will have to pay a 5 euro ($5.45) entrance fee from Monday, Italy's tourism ministry has said. Now a church, the vast cylindrical former temple whose undamaged exterior wall supports a 43.3 metre-high (142 ft) dome, attracts millions of visitors every year, making it one of Italy's top tourist draws. People queue to enter Pantheon, one of the ancient world's best preserved monuments which from July will start charging visitors an entry fee in Rome, Italy, June 30, 2023. REUTERS/Guglielmo Mangiapane The long-delayed introduction of a charge is part of a drive to squeeze more profit from Italy's cultural assets, with the tourism ministry set to receive 70% of the revenue to help cover cleaning and mai...
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