Venice's Mayor Seeks to Double Day-Tripper Fee to €50

Simone Venturini, Venice's new rightwing mayor and former tourism councillor, told the Guardian on Friday that he intends to raise the lagoon city's entrance fee for day-trippers to as much as €50. The proposal marks a significant escalation of the city's strategy to manage visitor flows during peak seasons. Venturini framed the increase as a tool to discourage arrivals during what he called 'periods of heightened tourist pressure'.

The fee, first introduced in 2022 at €5 and subsequently raised to €10, has become one of Europe's most closely watched experiments in managing mass tourism at heritage sites. Venice, which draws roughly three million day-trippers annually against a resident population of around 260,000, has faced mounting international scrutiny over the environmental and social strain of tourism. The Guardian's reporting noted that the city has struggled to balance revenue from visitors with the preservation of its lagoon ecosystem and the exodus of long-term residents seeking more liveable conditions.