Venice to charge fees and surveil tourists

[Chuckanut]

The next time you are in Venice you might be required to pay a daily entrance fee and even be watched on CCTV cameras.

https://www.cbc.ca/news/world/venice-tourism-booking-1.6166137

There is a physical limitation on the number of people that can be in the city at the same time," said Marco Bettini, director general of Venis, the IT company that built the monitoring system in partnership with phone operator TIM.

"We don't want to leave anyone behind or stop people from coming to Venice. We want people to book in advance, tell us where they want to go, what they want to visit, in order to provide a better quality of service."

I am not a fan of such things, but I understand why they are doing it.

 

[ExFlyBoy5]

"Even be watched on CCTV cameras"... as you are in every large city in the US.

But as to the article, I am in favor of this. The tactics are sure to annoy some, but tourism has become unpalatable in many areas.

 

[grasshopper]

Sigh, I was supposed to be in Venice on Sunday, not happening this year.

 

[Bamaman]

The cruise ship industry is really bringing in the tourists to Venice and affecting their environment. We landed there on a cruise 4 years ago, and could almost see the lagoon being stirred up by the ship's props.

I hate to see'em limit the heads, but the place is so much more congested than my first trip there in 1970. I think I've visited 8 times over the years.

And I've yet to see St. Mark's Basilica without scaffolding and construction work completed.

 

[Sittinginthesun]

Had an incredible trip to Venice 18 years ago. Stayed in a suite at the San Clemente Palace and had perfect weather and good times with friends. Just part of a 3 week trip that solidified our love of Italy. Had a shiny new red Alfa Romeo 166 rental car that we drove around the country getting lost on purpose and taking all back roads. Would take serious jigsaw work every morning to get the luggage loaded in the tiny trunk. Good times.

 

[ExFlyBoy5]

The cruise ship industry is really bringing in the tourists to Venice and affecting their environment. We landed there on a cruise 4 years ago, and could almost see the lagoon being stirred up by the ship's props.

I hate to see'em limit the heads, but the place is so much more congested than my first trip there in 1970. I think I've visited 8 times over the years.

And I've yet to see St. Mark's Basilica without scaffolding and construction work completed.

Cruise ships tend to make places not nearly as nice as they were before the ships showed up. Just my opinion, of course.

 

[Koolau]

I recall thinking ca 1964 that the Venice canals were utterly disgusting. I can't imagine what they are like now with even more tourism. I suppose popular places eventually sow the seeds of their own destruction. I see it on Oahu though there are attempts to preserve what we have. Oddly enough, Covid has had some positive effects on the natural scenery. Some "overused" places have begun to recover. I hope they can save Venice. It is a world treasure.

Not sure what the CCTV cameras are for, but we have those all over the USA already. YMMV

 

[travelover]

Disney needs to build a fake Venice so people can actually live in the real one.

 

[audreyh1]

Disney needs to build a fake Venice so people can actually live in the real one.

That’s what I thought when I first saw Venice: Disney has nothing on this!

 

[skyking1]

We are not going to Venice if we can avoid it. I used to think we had to go everywhere, but lately I am realizing that the impacts are too great.
We will still travel but I don't want to add to problems like Venice has.

 

[Teacher Terry]

I went to Venice in 2003 and I don’t think cruise ships were allowed because we didn’t see any. Really a beautiful city.

 

[Chuckanut]

Disney needs to build a fake Venice so people can actually live in the real one.

I understand there is a fake Venice in Las Vegas. Several Italians have told me it is highly realistic. I don't know as I don't go there except as an overnight stop on the way to someplace else.

My cruise ship related memory of Venice was being approached by desperate people asking me if I knew how to get back to the cruise ship dock before their ship sailed. I could not help them.

 

[timbervest]

We went for a week in the summer in 2014. Beautiful city -- not crowded at least once you got off Piazza San Marcos. Walking around or dining in neighborhoods or taking an off attraction walking tour was wonderful and quiet. Sad to hear its getting worse. Allowing cruise ship monstrosities to dock there is IMHO an abomination.

 

[Koolau]

I understand there is a fake Venice in Las Vegas. Several Italians have told me it is highly realistic. I don't know as I don't go there except as an overnight stop on the way to someplace else.

I've seen the "fake" Venice in LVNV. It looks "too good" to be compared to Venice - the water is probably clean enough to drink. The real one has charm. The one in Las Vegas is more of a "ride" than a reproduction (they do have gondola rides). Maybe I'm just being picky since I've seen the real thing.

One of my main recollections of Venice was seeing side-walk art. Young artists used chalk to "paint" masterpieces on the side walks. I recall thinking it a shame that the next rain would ruin their work. As mentioned, my big disappointment was just how filthy the water was. It could have been raw sewage littered with trash to all appearances. (Apparently when Katherine Hepburn was filming "SUMMERTIME" in 1955, she was required to "fall" into a canal. She got some sort of eye infection that caused her problems for the remainder of her life.)

I hope they can save Venice.

 

[Teacher Terry]

I have taken the gondola ride in Vegas. The water in Venice stunk in February. We took a ride there and I was surprised how dirty it was.

 

[Koolau]

I have taken the gondola ride in Vegas. The water in Venice stunk in February. We took a ride there and I was surprised how dirty it was.

I guess they were attempting to make it more "authentic."

 

[MC Rider]

You could try Venice, CA.
I have not been over there in a while. Used to be a circus party type atmosphere.
From what I read they have moved the homeless camps off the beach.
So hopefully it is getting fun again. It has also gotten way more expensive to live in than it used to be.


There are canals, more or less surrounded by private homes.
If you don't want funky, go next door to Santa Monica. ;>)


Disclaimer, I have no connection to tourist boards or anything,
and I live in The Valley.

 

[athena53]

My cruise ship related memory of Venice was being approached by desperate people asking me if I knew how to get back to the cruise ship dock before their ship sailed. I could not help them.

DH and I took a day trip to Venice by train around 2002. It was a good thing there were signs showing the way to the Piazza San Marco and the way back to the train station- Venice was a maze, but a beautiful one with scenes that looked like they came straight out of a painting at every turn. We never would have found our way around independently.

I have to respect destinations that restrict the number of incoming travelers to protect what they have. I think Venice realized how much more peaceful life was after COVID when the cruise ships stopped. They're considering a measure in Juneau right now that would cut cruise ship traffic back to about 25% of its pre-COVID level and also cut $25 million/year from the city coffers. Tough decisions.

 

[Souschef]

DW and I went on a night time gondola ride through the little back canals. We kissed under the Bridge of Sighs just like in the movie.
On another visit, We got all all day vaporetto (water taxi) ticket and rode them all around the outer islands. We ended up at an outdoor cafe at sunset. It was magic!

 

[NW-Bound]

Had an incredible trip to Venice 18 years ago...

I went to Venice in 2003 and I don’t think cruise ships were allowed because we didn’t see any. Really a beautiful city.

DH and I took a day trip to Venice by train around 2002...

We went to Venice in early March 2003, and have not been back. The timing was unplanned, in fact I was oblivious about the Carnival but we were there during the 2003 Carnival. When booking a hotel on the Web for the trip, I wondered why the vacancy rate was bad, and did not know why. We had a wonderful time.

We arrived by night train from Naples, spent 3 days in Venice, then took a night train to Paris.

I want to make another visit to Venice, this time in combination with a trek through Northern Italy and the Dolomites. I can only hope that the Covid mess will die out before I get too old to do much wandering. So much free time in retirement, so much unspent money, yet no place to go. Sigh...

 

[HawkOwl]

DW and I went on a night time gondola ride through the little back canals. We kissed under the Bridge of Sighs just like in the movie.
On another visit, We got all all day vaporetto (water taxi) ticket and rode them all around the outer islands. We ended up at an outdoor cafe at sunset. It was magic!

‘A Little Romance”? Loved that movie. It would be the only reason I would visit Venice. No interest otherwise.

 

[Koolau]

‘A Little Romance”? Loved that movie. It would be the only reason I would visit Venice. No interest otherwise.

I liked that movie as well. It was refreshingly different.

Come for the movie - stay for the magic. YMMV

 

[Sunset]

We are not going to Venice if we can avoid it. I used to think we had to go everywhere, but lately I am realizing that the impacts are too great.
We will still travel but I don't want to add to problems like Venice has.

The simple fact that you consider this, means your going would literally only have a positive impact by spending some money at places in Venice.

It's the tourists that swim in the canal, swarm at attractions that cause issues.

You are 1 or 2 people and won't make it more crowded when you consider 5.5 Million went in 2019.

I hope we get to go, and I'm hoping to stay a few nights in a hotel there as part of our touring.

 

[Chuckanut]

have a positive impact by spending some money at places in Venice.
.

I've been following this Venice issue for some time and the above hits a big point. Day trip visitors, whether they arrive by bus, train or cruise ship are not very profitable. They don't rent rooms, they might buy one meal - an inexpensive lunch, and they don't hang around long enough to buy expensive souvenirs. They get that cheap junk made in XXXXXX that we were all criticizing in another thread.

A person who stays overnight (I would recommend two nights minimum) rents a room, buys several dinners, and may have the time to shop for that special souvenir (more $$$'s, but not necessarily so). He/she also gets to see Venice at night, which is magical to say the least.

Venice, like the popular National Parks (Yellowstone for example), follow the same simple rule regarding crowds. The crowds go down with the square of the distance as you get farther away from the Super Star, Must See, Highly Publicized areas.

One warning, if you sit down at a table Piazza San Marco to hear one of the bands that is performing, be prepared to spend 20 euro for an espresso. My child found that out the hard way. But, it was a great time with new friends.

 

[Koolau]

At my age and health, I'll never return to Venice. But, I still have my memories. I kind of wish I'd been just a bit older (I was 17 at the time.) I think I would have appreciated everything more. YMMV