Mass tourism in Venice: Are city officials overreacting?
Tourists should be welcomed and celebrated but in Venice they are facing rejection and even criminalisation, according to long-time Veneto resident Dominic Standish.
Are city officials overreacting to legitimate concerns about mass tourism in Venice? And how might they manage tourism better? It’s a “Good Tourism” Insight initiated by Tourism’s Horizon, a “GT” Insight Partner.
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Venice suffered terribly from the collapse of tourism during the COVID-19 lockdowns.
When I walked around the city in May 2020 (when that was permitted), I noticed many closed stores, coffee shops, restaurants, and other businesses.
One shop window displayed something like a death announcement: “Without help we will die. If we open we will go bust.”
There were still too few tourists to make opening viable for many businesses.
Local press reported that 25% of businesses closed in 2021 due to COVID.
The return of tourists to Venice could be a great opportunity to rejuvenate the city.
However, knee-jerk policy-making risks squandering this opportunity.
Mass tourism in Venice, the day-tripper’s ‘Disneyland’
The principal culprit is Venice City Council and especially its Mayor, Luigi Brugnaro.
The Council and Brugnaro made a rash decision after an estimated 140,000 people visited the city on Easter Sunday 2022 followed by nearly 100,000 on Easter Monday.
The next day Brugnaro announced that day-trippers would have to make reservations to enter the city from the summer of 2022, and pay to enter from 2023.
Extensive protests by Venetians against these measures took place on November 19, 2022 and legal challenges against restrictions on free movement have been launched.
Many Venetians are unhappy about how the measures would turn their city into a gated ‘Disneyland’ and discourage visits from friends and relatives on the mainland.
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Fortunately neither of these measures have been implemented. Both were suspended by a Venice City Council vote on December 23, 2022.
In my experience, most of the post-COVID upsurge in day-trippers were Italian, not foreign. Nevertheless, it was unsurprising that they were targeted.
Day-trippers to Venice have historically been depicted as having a negative economic impact as compared to tourists who stay in hotels and eat at restaurants.
Local officials seem insensitive to the fact that day-trippers may lack the funds to stay and eat in the city. Charging and limiting the numbers of day-trippers would discriminate against poorer tourists.
Mass tourism in Venice, the fine city
In addition, while tourists in Venice have been discussed as environmental hazards for decades, in recent years they risk being criminalised.
Venice City Council has a list of forbidden behaviours, including sitting on the ground or on steps to eat or drink, and walking around bare-chested or in a swimsuit.
‘Offenders’ face … Continue reading this “Good Tourism” Insight at The “Good Tourism” Blog.
