For over 160 years, visitors have been arriving at the Venezia Santa Lucia train station and descending directly into the heart of one of the most historic and beautiful cities in the world. But until Thursday, they had never been greeted by a group of officers in white and yellow coats who wanted to know if they had downloaded the QR codes.
On the first day of the event, which Venice’s mayor hailed as a bold experiment to reduce overtourism, day trippers faced a €5 (£4.30) fee, which starts at 8.30am on Thursday and will be applied over 29 peak days. until July 14 as part of the hearing.
The plan aims to help the city better manage the millions of tourists who visit each year; even if it only applies to day-trippers, and even if the relatively low cost is unlikely to be the deterrent that critics claim. .
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But while the plan appeared to be off to a shaky start on Thursday, it surprised many visitors and even sparked protests from some residents.
Most day-trippers to Santa Lucia came prepared with a QR code proving they had paid the toll, but there was still confusion among people who had booked hotels and were unaware they had to go through the process of confirming their exemption online.
Showing proof of booking is not enough, as Yvonne McKenna and Ken Mehan, Irish visitors who arrived by night train from Vienna, found out. A staff member guided the couple through the online process, which took about 10 minutes.
“I knew about the new tax and the exemption, but I didn’t know we were going to do this when we came in,” McKenna said. “It seems like it will take a long time… Imagine if you weren’t that advanced with technology.”
As more trains arrived at the station, Mehan thought about how easy it would be to manage the controls during high season. “I understand why they’re trying to do this, but it feels like it could be a recipe for disaster.”
Natalie Liddell, a first-time visitor to Venice from York, said: “It’s very confusing. When we got to the hotel they said something about it but we didn’t quite understand what they were talking about. But I don’t think 5 euros will distract people.”
Others were completely unaware of the new measure. “What price?” asked Elizabeth from the USA before being shown how to pay online.
By late afternoon, 15,700 people had paid for a ticket that had been pre-booked or purchased on arrival.
The initiative was bitterly debated in Venice; Opponents argued that this violated the principle of freedom of movement and would not provide a meaningful solution to overtourism.
Venice’s main island, where the measure applies, attracted 3.2 million overnight visitors in 2022. On the busiest days, an average of 40,000 daily visitors come to the city.
In Piazzale Roma, where Venice’s main bus terminal is located, there was tension between police wearing riot gear and approximately 500 people protesting the fare.
Federica Toninello, one of the organizers of the protest, said: “None of the measures taken by this council meet the needs of the residents. “This is just tourism and speculation, so we are angry.”
Toninello said that although Venetians were exempt, the measure affected their daily lives because they had to prove that they were not responsible for the accusation and were subject to checks. Similarly, commuters or students also had to endure the “inconvenience” of getting a QR code.
Guido Sattin, an activist from Arci, distributed “symbolic passports” to tourists outside the station as a way of highlighting the measure’s “dubious constitutional legitimacy” in terms of restricting free movement.
“This sets a dangerous precedent,” he said. “We are the only city in the world where you have to pay to enter. “This is contrary to the Italian constitution and the European principle of freedom of movement.”
Simone Venturini, Venice’s councilor responsible for tourism, defended the council’s move. “These protesters see us as the enemy,” she said. “This isn’t a magic wand measure, but after 60 years of talking about how to manage tourism it’s the first time anyone has taken action.”
Venturini said the fee was mostly intended to deter Italian day trippers. “For example, many Italians come to the nearby beaches in the summer and on a rainy day they invade Venice. Yes, the majority are from Veneto and they are exempt, but the fact that they still have to go online to verify this is a way of deterring them.”
Jana Plevova from Prague sympathized with the plight of residents but supported the fee. She was spending five nights in the city and was exempt because she already paid a nightly tourist tax, but she said she wouldn’t have any concerns about paying to enter for the day.
He said: “Prague also suffers from overtourism, so paying €5 to try to preserve this beauty and architecture is not that much.”
Edel from Ireland said: “For me 5 Euros is nothing if you really want to come.” Her husband, John, was more skeptical. “5 euros this year, 10 euros next year… Who knows what the price will be in a few years? Venice will cease to live up to its good name and will begin to be seen as a robbery.”