Authorities of Venice develop radical schemes which will help to protect city from the travelers coming to the city of arts only for one day. Such tourists do not pay for hotels, do not go on voyages, eat sandwiches which they bring with them and even try to avoid visiting paid toilets. The administration of city considers, that Venice will survive only if the rush of “one-day” tourists would be ceased.
According to one of the offered schemes, only those travelers, who will be able to reserve a hotel room, will be allowed to come to the city. Enrico Mingardi, who is responsible for public transport in ancient Italian city, suggested introducing booking and preliminary sale of tickets for ships and water buses which are the single public transport in Venice. “It is necessary to thoroughly study all the offered ideas and to limit the number of tourists. There is a physical limit and it is impossible to increase it”, – writes La Nouova Venezia. “Venetians cannot stand the inconvenience of mass tourism anymore”.
It is still unknown, how authorities are going to physically limit access to the city for those tourists who will have neither reservations of hotel, nor the ticket to museums or water buses. However this week the Council of the city will discuss offers together with tourist associations and inhabitants of Venice. The representative of Council has declared that the idea of restricted tourists’ access to Venice has been discussed for already severaldecades. However this idea was very disputable as it breaks a democratic principle of freedom of moving.
The population of Venice is about 60 thousand. For venetians the represented figure is considered to be critical. In opinion of the townspeople, this small number of inhabitants cannot support Venice as a functioning city or a huge open-air museum.
Let us remind, that not so long ago the mayor of Venice, Massimo Cacciari, who has personally caught the Portuguese tourist who urinated in one the Venetian channels, has announced the season of “hunting for tourists.” The authorities of the city have introduced the punitive measures limiting freedom of visitors of Venice a while ago. Tourists are forbidden to feed pigeons, to sit on boards of fountains and to walk without shirts. Tourists were forced to leave their knapsacks before entering water buses. Authorities also insist that visitors give their places to elderly venetians and pregnant women. For many years the administration tries to introduce a payment plan for visiting the city, but unsuccessfully. The project of obligatory registration of groups and individual tourists is discussed as well. Besides, there are penalties for tourists. For example, feeding pigeons will cost the fan of animals 300 euros.
