Venice to trial ticketing system from spring 2024

Venice will trial a ticketing system from spring next year, officials said Tuesday, with day-trippers charged five euros to enter the historic Italian city in a "trailblazing" bid to cut tourist numbers.

The council executive backed the move just weeks after UN cultural agency UNESCO recommended Venice be added to its list of world heritage in danger, in part because of the impact of mass tourism.

"Regulating tourist flows in certain periods is necessary, but that does not mean closing the city," said mayor Luigi Brugnaro.

"Venice will always be open to everyone."

The long-mooted plan must still be approved by the wider city council, and many details are still unclear -- including how many tickets would be available to book.

But the council executive agreed to a 30-day trial, likely spread out across public holidays and weekends in the spring and summer of 2024.

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Residents, commuters, students and children under the age of 14 will be exempt -- as will tourists who stay in the city overnight.

"The objective is to discourage daily tourism in certain periods, in line with the fragility and uniqueness of the city," the local authority said in a statement.

Residents of the wider Veneto region will likely not have to pay, but still book their visit, it said.

With the new system, Venice will become a "trailblazer on the global level", said Simone Venturini, the city's council member for tourism.

He said it was not about making a profit, with the fee only covering costs, but finding a "new balance between the rights of those who live, study or work in Venice, and those who visit the city".

UNESCO said on July 31 that Venice risked "irreversible" damage due to a string of issues ranging from climate change to mass tourism.

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The recommendation that the city be added to its list of world heritage in danger will be discussed at a meeting of UNESCO's World Heritage Committee in Riyadh later this month.

Source: AFP