this post was submitted on 24 Nov 2023

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Venice rolls out day-tripper fee to try to regulate mass crowds on peak weekends (english.elpais.com)

submitted 11 months ago by boem to c/[email protected]

22 comments fedilink hide all child comments

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[–] [email protected] 16 points 11 months ago (1 children)

Only $5.45 ?

I thought they charge 20€ since 15 years.

That's probably because I read an article that said "venice starts charging 20€ per day" and in the end it's just some idiot screaming into the void and some idiotic journalist catching his dumb ideas and selling it as if it were facts. I hate modern journalism.

[–] [email protected] 1 points 11 months ago

Whatever that was - it wasn’t journalism

[–] [email protected] 3 points 11 months ago

The Consistory will not benefit from the introduction of the fee, as, according to tourism minister Simone Venturini, the income will only function to cover the costs of the system.

When you spend >50 million € on a basic ticketing system

[+] [email protected] -10 points 11 months ago* (last edited 8 months ago) (3 children)

[deleted]

[–] [email protected] 27 points 11 months ago* (last edited 11 months ago) (2 children)

Bit dramatic of you to call a $5.45 fee hostile. Venice is legitimately overcrowded during tourist season and has a lot of problems to deal with to even literally stay above water right now. I'm sure they won't miss you.

[–] [email protected] 8 points 11 months ago* (last edited 11 months ago) (3 children)

If a family plans a trip that involves an international flight, accommodation and preparation, a €6 is not going to change a thing. This seems more like an easy, state-sponsored money grab than a legitimate effort to better manage over-tourism.

[–] [email protected] 11 points 11 months ago

You can get around Europe surprisingly cheap. This tax is made so that the people you mention, who pay for hotels and services in the town are not discouraged, but the ones who just walk through spending nothing will avoid the place.

[–] [email protected] 3 points 11 months ago

The fee will be payed only by people who stay in the city just for the day. The idea is to discourage this kind of "fast tourism" in favour of people who instead spend more days in the city (then of course, the actual efficacy of this method for reducing overcrowding is to be seen)

[–] [email protected] 3 points 11 months ago

It's a start though

[–] [email protected] 14 points 11 months ago

No one likes tourists, what are you on about?

[–] Sylvartas 5 points 11 months ago

Say you've never been to Venice without saying you've never been to Venice.

It's basically always overcrowded with tourists, it's understandable that they would do something about it. All that traffic takes a toll on the streets that were already sinking even without said traffic. A 6€ fee to maintain them better is hardly a racket.

[+] [email protected] -12 points 11 months ago (3 children)

That will literally kill the city and convert it into a sort of cringe "open air museum". I live in the region and was considering purchasing a subscription to the theater season. Costly but definitely worth it. Now on top of it I should pay 5€ for each time I attend to a show? No, thanks. I believe I'm not the only one of the locals who thinks like that.

[–] [email protected] 20 points 11 months ago (1 children)

It's only from 8:30 to 16:00 - so you should be fine? It looks like it is targeted at all the cruise ship visitors

[–] wieson 11 points 11 months ago (1 children)

Please make cruise ships unviable. I really want to see this branch of tourism die.

[–] [email protected] 10 points 11 months ago* (last edited 11 months ago) (1 children)

Yeah cruise tourists are extremely fucking annoying when they pile into city centers by the 100s. I recall hearing an economic analysis being done about them in Amsterdam and the short of it was that they cost the city more than they spend here. They don't buy hotel rooms locally and they eat the bulk of their meals aboard rather than in the city. So they're just a drain on infrastructure and law enforcement and clog up the streets not knowing where they should and shouldn't walk.

I also recall hearing that going on a cruise is one of the most polluting things a person can do in such a short period of time. They just need to stop being a thing at least until such a time as they are able to run on something other than fossil fuel.

[–] [email protected] 3 points 11 months ago (1 children)

They just need to stop being a thing at least until such a time as they are able to run on something other than fossil fuel.

Fun fact, cruise ships almost universally have electric propulsion.

Also fun fact: they get the electricity by lugging around multiple fossil fuel powered generators.

[–] [email protected] 1 points 11 months ago (2 children)

Interesting. I wonder what the benefit of that is. I guess maybe spreading the fuel burn across times when they are and aren't in motion? Maybe it's also quieter?

[–] [email protected] 4 points 11 months ago* (last edited 11 months ago) (1 children)

I believe it’s mostly because it allows you to use electric motors mounted on swiveling pods under the water line. The same thing with mechanical propulsion is tricky because of leaky shaft connections.

But apparently there are more advantages:

https://www.marineinsight.com/tech/cruise-ships-powered/

[–] [email protected] 1 points 11 months ago

That's pretty neat

[–] [email protected] 2 points 11 months ago

You can think of it as an electric transmission instead of mechanical gears.

[–] [email protected] 15 points 11 months ago* (last edited 11 months ago)

I read that residents in the region don't need to pay, only to book the visit through their app. Also, at least for now the ticket will be needed only for specific dates, mostly the weekends

[–] [email protected] 9 points 11 months ago

convert it into a sort of cringe “open air museum”

So, it would change essentially nothing?