Venice Access Fee: One Year On

by Scott Hartbeck
Last updated: 8:05 AM ET, Thu May 1, 2025

Whether it appears through the doors of Santa Lucia rail station or on the horizon during an approach by water, a traveler never forgets their first view of Venice.

At that moment, the city grabs you, and soon after its canals, alleys, palaces and courtyards whisk you away to another time and place. By the time you stroll back to your hotel on your first night��likely getting lost in Venice's labyrinthine lanes to the soundtrack of lapping water��you're in love.?

You see, you don��t just visit Venice, you soak it in. Experiencing this city at its best isn��t about checking off a list of to-do, it��s about sipping it in slowly, like a spritz outside one of the city's humble wine bars��one preferably made from local spirit Select.?

But here's the thing, not enough people have been experiencing Venice like this lately, making the city's long-held nickname of La Serenissima, which translates to "The Most Serene", seem like a cruel joke.?

No, for far too long, too many people have seen another vision of Venice: one packed with other travelers hellbent on completing a smash & grab mission to see the highlights of the city and get out as fast as they can. ??

At the risk of being just as well known for crammed streets as canals, last year the city decided to formally begin a pushback against this type of tourism by implementing the Venice Access Fee.

The access fee garnered headlines around the world and as we just recently passed the first anniversary of its rollout, we thought it would be good to look back at how we got here and how things are going with the access fee so far.?

Firstly, the city's decision to implement the Venice Access Fee in 2024 came after years of mounting pressure from locals and international organizations.

If you spoke to 100 Venetians, you would probably get 100 different opinions on the state of tourism in the city. By the time 2024 rolled around though, almost everyone agreed that with tens of millions of visitors annually (many of them daytrippers) Venice couldn't sustain the strain on its local life and infrastructure much longer.?

The straw that broke the camel's back was arguably in 2023, when in the middle of trying to keep its head above water during the post-pandemic travel tsunami, Venice was warned by UNESCO that it could be placed on the "List of World Heritage in Danger".? And let's just put it this way: that's a list you don't want to see your name on.

UNESCO was alarmed by the deteriorating state of affairs in the city and cited "irreversible changes" due to climate change and mass tourism while also mentioning that the local preservation efforts simply weren't up to snuff.

And all this was after Venice had banned large cruise ships back in 2021.?

Amidst this backdrop, the Access Fee of �5 ($5.70) for daytrippers on 29 select peak days was rolled out last year, aiming to deter some of the flow of tourists at peak times, encourage longer stays and generate funds for the upkeep of the city.?

The fee was applied to visitors entering between 8:30 a.m. and 4:00 p.m. only, with those who spend the night in the city not required to pay it. Naturally, workers, students and Venetians (and their guests) were exempt from the fee.?Visitors were required to register online and obtain a QR code for entry, with enforcement carried out by staff at one of several access points.

While nobody thought the Venice Access Fee and the Venice Access Fee alone would resolve all problems, to many, it represented a huge step toward balancing tourism with preserving Venice's unique culture and history.

Crowds of tourists in St. Mark's Square, Venice, Italy.

Financially, the fee was a runaway success, generating upwards of �2 million in 2024.

However, the Venice Access Fee faced plenty of pushback for its limited impact on reducing tourist numbers, as daily visitors continued to reach north of 70,000 people and the runaway tourism train showed no signs of slowing down.?

In addition, not all locals have embraced the initiative or its execution and greeted its rollout with a high-profile protest. Venetians have raised concerns that the fee does little to address the root issues caused by mass tourism, and is not set at a high enough price point to sway behavior.?

The argument would be that if you've traveled across the world to see Venice, or have an itinerary locked in for months, are you really going to re-schedule over five bucks? Some Venetians argue that what the city needs is a hard cap on numbers, not just a small fee for daytrippers.

Others fear that charging an entry fee, however noble, risks Venice morphing into an amusement park. While still other critics see the Venice Access Fee as purely a symbolic gesture, rather than a structural solution to housing shortages, the dwindling local population and the taking over of the city by tourism-related businesses.?

Finally, questions have been raised about data privacy, the logistics of enforcing the fee, data privacy and the precise use of funds.?

This year, Venice has expanded the program, increasing the fee to �10 for last-minute bookings and extending its application to 54 days, running from April 18 to July 27. Additional recent measures aimed at improving life for locals include limiting tour groups to 25 people and banning loudspeakers.?

The View From Venice

On the eve of the Venice Acess Fee's?2025 launch, TravelPulse received the following statement from the Sustainable Tourism Office in Venice:?

"Tomorrow, the second phase of an experimental initiative will begin �� a project rooted in the recognition that there is no magic wand capable of instantly solving a problem affecting many European tourist cities. It represents a tangible and innovative tool �� also in terms of data analysis �� to build, together with all local stakeholders, a new approach to managing visitor flows.?

It will be a long journey, but from now on the city will be able to rely on objective data rather than mere estimates to understand the phenomenon of overtourism.

We are the first in the world to take on this challenge with seriousness, method and full legal compliance, fully aware that any stricter measure without a solid legal foundation would collapse at the first administrative appeal.

The trial launched in 2024 has already yielded valuable insights, and we are now taking a further step by making the fee system more flexible and expanding the days of application.

Our goal is to encourage quality tourism �� overnight stays �� that respects the city and seeks to engage with it on a deeper level, embracing its unique character and rhythm. We aim to strike a better balance between the rights of those who live in Venice and those who wish to visit it.

This is simply a matter of responsible governance �� and the fact that many international cities have approached us in recent months to learn more about our system confirms that we are on the right track".

Our Take

We don't think you should pay the Venice Access Fee, because Venice is the type of place that shouldn't be done as a day trip. There is way too much to do and experience, and you also need plenty of time to sit and do nothing while soaking up its one-of-a-kind ambiance. You don't have time to do that when you're just popping in for a couple of hours to get a picture of some gondolas, the Bridge of Sighs and St. Mark's Square.

Stay a while. Take your time admiring that artwork, wander the back alleys and the distinct neighborhoods well off the beaten path. Linger over lunch. Pop into heavenly churches & humble wine bars.

You'll have a better time and won't be part of the problem.?

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