Italy: Venice to reduce the number of tourists by setting €5 fee per day

Venice: In an attempt to decrease the large number of tourists visiting Venice every day, the Italian authorities have decided to impose certain limitations.

The deputy mayor for social welfare, tourism, and economic development in the city of Venice, Simone Venturini, has explained that by imposing limitations, they aim to discourage one-day tourism and at the same time encourage slower tourism.

According to Euronews, around 100,000 tourists have been able to explore the city and walk through its squares every day until now. Nonetheless, in line with the new rules that are soon to enter into force, tourists will no longer be able to visit the city for free.

It has been revealed this year, all those who wish to visit Venice will be required to book a ticket online. The ticket price will be €5 and will be valid for one day only. The authorities decided to set such a short validity on the tickets in order to reduce the number of visitors since Venice is considered a vulnerable place.

Moreover, according to the same, Venice’s local authorities will also close the main access to the historical centres as well as equip the city with 500 cameras, which will be used to monitor the movement of visitors.

Italy is currently keeping strict entry restrictions for all persons who wish to reach the country. All travellers are required to present a valid vaccination or recovery certificate. In addition, travellers must also provide a completed Passenger Locator Form and a negative test taken before arrival. The testing requirement applies even to everyone, regardless of the vaccination status.

Italy keeps a categorisation of countries based on their epidemiological situation. Almost all EU/Schengen Area countries are currently part of Italy’s List C, meaning that they are permitted entry as long as they meet general COVID-19 entry rules.

List D consists of several third countries, citizens of which can travel to Italy under the same rules mentioned above, whereas List E consists of all the other countries that are not specifically referred to in any of the lists.

Stricter restrictions apply to countries that have been highly affected by the Omicron variant. These countries are categorised separately. The Italian Ministry of Health has announced that the entry ban that was previously imposed against southern African countries will remain valid until January 31.

This means that persons who have stayed in South Africa, Lesotho, Botswana, Zimbabwe, Mozambique, Namibia, Eswatini, and Malawi in the last 14 days are not permitted entry to Italy.

Only Italian nationals, their children, and their legal partners can return to Italy after staying in one of these areas, provided that they don’t show any COVID-19 symptoms.