That’s no-more.
Venice — certainly one of the world’s most oversubscribed tourist destinations — could soon get loads less crowded.
On Saturday, Italian officials announced measures to limit large tourist groups within the historic sinking city, as a part of a campaign to curb congestion on the usually narrow streets and waterways of the historic hotspot.
“It’s about promoting sustainable tourism and guaranteeing the protection and safety of the town,” Elisabetta Pesce, the local head of security, told the Guardian of the proposed measure.
Per the policy, which might go into effect starting in June, tourist groups could be limited to 25 people — around half the capability of a double-decker bus.
Meanwhile, the town plans to ban loudspeakers — a preferred device amongst tour guides — as they “may cause confusion and disturbance, thereby contributing to noise pollution, the Independent reported.
Venetian counselor for commerce, Sebastiano Costalonga, explained that the measures aim to guard each the residents and facilitate the flow of traffic within the 2.7 square mile Unesco Heritage Site.
“The administration not only wants to provide precise rules for respecting the fragility of Venice, the traffic, and coexistence with those that live in Venice,” he declared, “but additionally give a signal regarding the presence of unauthorized tourist guides, which with this recent article will not be tolerated.”
The efforts are a part of an ongoing campaign to scale back visitation to the City Of Canals, which reportedly absorbs a whopping 30 million people per 12 months, lots of whom visit for the day.
Unesco has even mulled adding Venice to its list of heritage sites in peril attributable to “irreversible damage” from the perennial tourist tsunami, amongst other aspects.
In an effort to mitigate the tide of holiday makers in September, Venice announced that they’d be charging day-trippers a “tourist tax” of around $5.45 to realize entry to the seaside destination. This policy, which can affect only travelers over 14 who’re visiting for the day, will undergo a 30-day trial run starting this Spring.
In 2021, the Italian government banned large ships from entering Venice’s famed harbor, after a big pleasure vessel crashed there two years prior.
Unfortunately, it’s not only the tidal waves of tourists which can be eroding away Venice’s foundation.
Just like the mythical city of Atlantis, the lagoon city is slowly sinking into the ocean attributable to rising sea levels fomented by climate change and overdevelopment.