Venice starts fining tourists who skip entrance fee to historic centre

But some locals aren’t convinced the entry fee or the associated fines will have any positive impact on local residents.

Transcript

00:00 Visitors to Venice who fail to pay the entry fee to the historic city centre will face

00:06 fines starting at 10 times the 5 euro ticket price. Starting this year, tourists will have

00:13 to pay to enter the lagoon city, a move authorities have introduced to clamp down on the effects

00:19 of over-tourism.

00:21 We need to find a balance, a new balance between the tourist and the resident. We need to safeguard

00:27 the spaces of the resident, of course, and we need to discourage the arriving of day

00:32 trippers in some particular days.

00:35 Venice has long suffered from excessive tourism and the pilot entry charge, which will be

00:40 in place on 29 days between April and July, is an attempt to limit visitor numbers. But

00:46 some locals aren't convinced the entry fee will have any real impact.

00:51 It's clear where all these resources and tickets are being invested. If they tell me they will

00:58 put in place the thousands and thousands of houses that are vacant in this city, I think

01:03 it could be sustainable, as far as I'm concerned. But it won't be like that in the future, because

01:10 residents will continue to vacate, this city will continue to increase tourism.

01:15 Officials say the scheme aims to reduce crowds on peak days, encourage longer visits and

01:21 improve the quality of life for residents.

01:24 But it doesn't apply to anyone staying in Venice.

01:27 - What the fuck?

01:29 (whooshing)