Venice to charge last-minute day-trippers €10 under renewed entry scheme

Venice will reinstate its tourist entry fee from Friday, with a key change this year: day-trippers booking less than three days in advance will be charged double.

The scheme, introduced last year as a pilot to discourage short visits during peak times, made Venice the first major tourist destination globally to impose an access fee. Though it had little effect on overall footfall, it brought in an unexpected €2.4 million in revenue.

Authorities remain hopeful that the charge will play a long-term role in addressing overtourism in the Unesco-listed lagoon city.

This year, the standard fee remains at €5 if booked online more than three days in advance. For bookings made closer to arrival, the charge rises to €10.

The initiative has also been expanded to cover 54 dates—mainly weekends—between 18 April and 27 July, nearly double the number of days compared with 2023. It will apply between 8.30am and 4pm local time.
City authorities maintain that the long-term aim is to protect the historic lagoon city from the growing strain of mass tourism.
Visitors will receive a QR code upon booking, which must be shown to stewards stationed at key entry points to the city, including the Venezia Santa Lucia railway station.

Those staying overnight in Venice are exempt from the entry charge, as are residents of the wider Veneto region—where most day-trippers originate—and children under 14. However, even hotel guests are required to register their visit through the city’s online platform.

last year Venice recorded a new high in tourism, with more than 3.9 million people staying overnight in the city’s historic centre. Still, the vast majority of the estimated 30 million annual visitors come only for the day.

According to local outlet Venezia Today, over 35,000 day-trippers have already secured tickets under the updated scheme.

Simone Venturini, Venice’s councillor for tourism, acknowledged that no single solution could fully address the challenges of overtourism. However, he described the entry fee system as “a tangible and innovative tool” for collecting reliable data and managing tourist flows.

“It will be a long journey,” he said, “but from now on, the city can rely on objective figures rather than rough estimates to understand the overtourism phenomenon.”

Another aim, he said, was to “strike a better balance between the rights of those who live in Venice and those who wish to visit it”.

While many tourists accepted the fee during its first rollout, the initiative has drawn criticism from local residents. Many argue that real change will only come through tighter regulation of short-term holiday rentals and stronger public services for the city’s year-round population, which dropped below 50,000 for the first time in 2022

Giovanni Andrea Martini, a Venice city councillor from the opposition, remains one of the most vocal critics of the entry fee.

“It has made absolutely no difference,” he said. “Visitor numbers are actually increasing. In recent days, we’ve been overwhelmed.”

While no fresh protests have emerged, some residents have voiced frustration over the city’s attempts to divert tourists towards less-visited neighbourhoods on the main island.

“It’s a measure meant to ease pressure from popular areas,” Martini said. “But it has sparked resentment among locals in quieter districts, who now fear disruption to their daily lives.”

He added, “For residents, the situation is becoming increasingly unliveable.”