Mass tourism is increasing: more beds for tourists than residents in Venice’s old town

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In the old town of Venice, mass tourism is increasingly displacing the local population. In the world-famous northern Italian metropolis, the number of tourist beds exceeded the number of residents in December.

There were 50,016 guest beds, while the number of inhabitants was 49,211, as the association Venessia.com announced based on data from the city registration office. Including mainland residents, Venice recently had a population of about 260,000. More and more people are moving from the old city to the mainland. The number of short-term rentals has exploded in recent months.

“Venice needs an immediate stop accepting tourists, the number of beds must be limited,” said Matteo Secchi of Venessia.com. The platform aims to give local Venetians a voice. Last but not least, mass tourism is much more expensive and also makes life in the historic center more difficult.

“Once the opening of souvenir shops is prevented by regulation, it would also make sense to limit the spread of short-term rentals. Also because these structures are often managed by people from outside the city, while the residents bear the burden of the inconveniences that come with them,” says Secchi, a resident of Venice.

Tourists will be asked to pay in 2024

Venice will test entrance fees for day tourists from next spring. On particularly busy days and weekends, tourists will have to pay an entrance fee of five euros from 8:30 a.m. to 4 p.m., Venice’s mayor said. The entrance fee is charged for a total of 29 days per year.

Excluded are residents and people born in the municipality of Venice, property owners, students and employees. For other groups, such as children under the age of 14, the disabled and accompanying persons, a reservation obligation applies but not a payment obligation. (SDA)

Source:Blick