Venice enforces new €5 fee for UK tourists from today in latest crackdown

A new daily charge for UK holidaymakers visiting the popular Italian hotspot of Venice has today been imposed with only certain groups of people exempt from this fee.

The access fee of €5 (£4.29) will be in place for the rest of April, most of May and certain dates in June and July this year. According to The Guardian, the city's mayor Luigi Brugnaro has claimed that this new charge has been brought in to deter overcrowding and make Venice "livable" again.

However, locals in Venice accused the authorities of making the city a "theme park" with this change. Venice has long been dealing with an increase of tourists and day-trippers, with visitors reaching an all-time high in 2023.

Matteo Secchi, leader of residents' activist group Venessia, told the publication: "I can tell you that almost the entire city is against it. You can’t impose an entrance fee to a city; all they’re doing is transforming it into a theme park. This is a bad image for Venice … I mean, are we joking?"

The daily fee of £4.29 or €5 in local currency needs to be paid if you visit the city between the hours of 8:30am until 4pm - visiting before or after this time will exclude you from the payment.

There are certain days in 2024 so far that this daily charge will be imposed and certain groups that will be continuously exempt from it - no matter the time of day or date.

Read on below to find out more.

What days will this daily charge be in effect?

According to the Access Fee Town of Venice website, this charge will be imposed on the following dates in 2024:

• April 25

• April 26

• April 27

• April 28

• April 29

• April 30

• May 1

• May 2

• May 3

• May 4

• May 5

• May 11

• May 12

• May 18

• May 19

• May 25

• May 26

• June 8

• June 9

• June 15

• June 16

• June 22

• June 23

• June 29

• June 30

• July 6

• July 7

• July 13

• July 14

Who is exempt from this daily charge?

The website has also detailed which groups of people are exempt from this daily charge. These include:

• Guests at an accommodation located in the municipality of Venice

• Workers in Venice

• Relatives of those who live in Venice

• Residents of Veneto or in the Metropolitan City of Venice

• Owners of properties that pay IMU or those who are the holders of a rental contract

• Students registered in the temporary population register

• Participants in a sporting event

• Those on a school trip

This news comes after another popular Italian hotspot began discussions to also bring in a daily fee for tourists. Lake Como is the latest European hotspot to be battling over-tourism, and officials are calling for the introduction of a special tax to help curb this.

Como's mayor Alessandro Rapinese said he is considering charging visitors for each day they visit the area, inspired by a similar move undertaken in Venice.

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