Too much love from global tourists is overwhelming Venice and threatening to destroy it.
But authorities of “La Serenissima” are increasingly serious about controlling the swarming crowds that are adversely affecting the lives of local residents and damaging the environment of one of the most iconic but also endangered cities on earth.
Starting in June, tourist groups will be limited to 25 people – or roughly half the capacity of a tourist bus – and the use of loudspeakers, “which can generate confusion and disturbances,” will be banned, the city said in a statement.
The city official in charge of security, Elisabetta Pesce, explained that the new policies are meant to restrict the flow of groups through Venice’s historic center, as well as the heavily visited islands of Murano, Burano and Torcello.
This new policy comes after other attempts to regulate the incoming mass of tourists and is meant to ease the relentless pressure on the infrastructure and the environment.
The city previously announced plans to test a new day-tripper fee. The €5 per person charge will be applied on 29 peak days between April and mid-July, including most weekends.
The UN cultural agency cited tourism’s impact on the fragile lagoon city as a major factor in it twice considering placing Venice on UNESCO’s list of heritage sites in danger. If it is declared as such, there will be severe restrictions on tourism.
The city avoided the designation, which could have adverse effects on its economy, the first time by limiting the arrival of large cruise ships through the Giudecca Canal and again in September when it announced the roll-out of the day-tripper charge, which had been delayed when tourism declined during the COVID-19 pandemic.
It is still not clear how the new regulation of allowing only 25 tourists at a time to visit, will be enforced.
