UK agents fear for Venice
Overcrowding in Venice is a real issue, according to UK travel agents responsible for sending visitors to the popular Italian city.
Venice attracts 60,000 visitors a day during high season, swamping the 55,000 residents, and it narrowly escaped being placed on Unesco’s city ‘at risk’ list last month.
In a TravelMole poll, 86.5% of agents agreed that such overcrowding was a real issue, but so far no-one has come up with any solutions to limit the number of visitors.
The city’s tourism chief Paolo Mar said last month that day-trippers from nearby cities and beach resorts were the biggest problem as they picnic on the pavements, spend little and generally get in the way.
Speaking to the Independent, she said the EU’s freedom of movement laws prevented Venice from introducing a charge to enter the city and so day-trippers were not contributing to the economy in the same way as overnight visitors, who pay a tourist tax.
However, a new campaign launched in July, EnjoyRespectVenezia aims to improve the behaviour of tourists by reminding them of forbidden activities, such as swimming in the canals, picnicking in public areas, pausing on bridges, dropping litter, sightseeing in bathing suits and riding bikes through the city.
Those who break the rules could be fined up to €500.
Linsey McNeill
Editor Linsey McNeill has been writing about travel for more than three decades. Bylines include The Times, Telegraph, Observer, Guardian and Which? plus the South China Morning Post. She also shares insider tips on thetraveljournalist.co.uk
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