Venice begins trial of ticketing system for tourists

Tourists wishing to visit the Italian city of Venice will have to pay a fee for the first time as part of a trial to deter daytrippers at peak times. Day visitors will pay an $A8 access fee from 8.30am to 4pm (0630-1400 GMT) from Thursday unless they have an exemption. Residents of the Veneto region, people who work, study or were born in Venice, children younger than 14 and anyone who has booked accommodation in the city will be exempt from the ticket requirement. The trial will run for 29 days - daily until May 5, then most weekends until mid-July. A decision on whether the arrangement will become permanent will be made by the end of the year. The flow of visitors to the tourist hotspot is lucrative but has also been causing problems for some time. The historic centre with the famous Piazza San Marco, the Rialto Bridge and the many canals now has fewer than 50,000 permanent residents. In the high season, there are more than twice as many tourists on some days. An estimated 15 million visitors travelled to the city in 2023. Failure to pay the admission ticket could result in a fine of $A80 to almost $A500. The city council said the revenue would be used to renovate canals, roads and buildings.