Venice plans to increase its day-tripper entry fee in 2025, following the introduction of a trial scheme earlier this year. The aim of the trial is to manage the influx of tourists in the lagoon city.
Initially, the city implemented a €5 entry ticket on 29 selected days, including public holidays and weekends, from 25th April to 14th July, to alleviate the strain of mass tourism on Venice.
The trial’s conclusion on 14th July marked a significant test for the city’s efforts to control visitor numbers. During the first 27 days of the pilot scheme, around 425,270 visitors paid the entry fee, generating over €2 million. This was three times the amount initially forecast for the entire 29-day period. It was only applicable to day-trippers and exempted overnight visitors and residents.
New day-tripper entry fee structure for 2025
Despite criticisms the entry fee did not effectively reduce crowds, the city council plans to continue, with an adjustment to the fee structure.
Starting next year, there will be a reduced rate of €3 for those who book in advance, with the fee rising to €10 on peak days.
Venice’s tourism councillor, Simone Venturini, stated the need for this change at a Jubilee Year 2025 conference in Rome. Venturini told Il Fatto Quotidiano, “Venice is still too cheap,” and highlighted the importance of considering “an increased access contribution to put a stop to excess tourism.”
Venturini stressed Venice does not have unlimited capacity. “Venice cannot contain all the people in the world. We have to choose what kind of people we want to bring to a city that offers a unique experience in the world, but within a finite space.”
Michele Zuin, the city’s budget councillor, also discussed the rationale behind the fee increase, telling Il Fatto Quotidiano, “We hope to discourage arrivals. The first experimental phase did not show major disincentive effects, but we did not expect them. The situation will change when the maximum ticket is increased to €10.”
Zuin described the initiative as “an attempt to reverse the trend,” with the goal that people will “not come to Venice when they have holidays, but rather take holidays to go to Venice when it is possible to do so.”
The hope is that tourists visiting will be there not simply to tick off a bucket list destination, but to truly enjoy and learn about this beautiful city.
