(25 Apr 2024)
RESTRICTION SUMMARY:
ASSOCIATED PRESS
Venice – 25 April 2024
1. Tourists in St Mark’s Square
2. Various of access fee check point near Venice station, stewards checking QR codes
3. SOUNDBITE (English) Colleen Barry, Associated Press reporter:
"Venice has launched a pilot program to charge day trippers 5 euros to access the city on 29 days between now and July, so tourists arriving at the city today will come upon signs looking like this, giving them the dates that this fee is being applied this year, and also showing the area where it’s valid for this period."
4. Various of stewards checking QR code certifying payment of fee, tourists walking
5. SOUNDBITE (English) Colleen Barry, Associated Press reporter:
"Behind me, we have stewards who are checking people as they arrive to see if they have the QR codes. The people we’ve spoken to said it’s been very simple procedure in downloading the QR code."
6. Various of QR codes being checked by stewards
7. Various of Colleen Barry explaining how to purchase the QR code online, UPSOUND (English): "Before arriving in Venice, you should go to this site: cda.ve.it." / "Then you pick the day that you’re arriving." / "Now we’re going to print or download the PDF." / "And then you download the image."
8. SOUNDBITE (English) Colleen Barry, Associated Press reporter:
"Anybody who is not staying in Venice or not coming here to work, coming through these doors is now responsible for having the QR code on their phone to have paid the access fee. There will be checkpoints at some point where there’s going to check. So far on this holiday in Italy, very few people are arriving, but we have the world’s media here ready to witness this historic moment."
9. Various of tourists and media at checkpoint outside station
10. Various of canals, Rialto bridge and St Mark’s square
STORYLINE:
Under the gaze of the world’s media, the fragile lagoon city of Venice launches a pilot program Thursday to charge day-trippers a 5-euro (around $5.35) entry fee that authorities hope will discourage visitors from arriving on peak days and make the city more liveable for its dwindling residents.
Signs advising arriving visitors of the new requirement for a test phase of 29 days through July have been erected outside the main train station and other points of arrival.
Some 200 stewards have been trained to politely walk anyone unaware of the fee through the process of downloading a QR code. A kiosk has been set up for those not equipped with a smartphone.
Once past designated entry ports, officials will carry out random checks for QR codes that show if the day-tripper tax has been paid or that the bearer is exempt.
Transgressors face fines from 50 euros to 300 euros. The requirement applies only for people arriving between 8:30 a.m. and 4 p.m. Outside of those hours, access is free.
Venice has long suffered under the pressure of over-tourism, but officials say that pre-pandemic estimates ranging from 25 million to 30 million visitors a year — including day-trippers — are not reliable and that the pilot project also aims to come up with more exact figures to help better manage the phenomenon.
By contrast, registered visitors spending the night last year numbered 4.6 million, according to city figures, down 16% from pre-pandemic highs.
Not all residents, however, are persuaded of the efficacy of the new system in dissuading mass tourism, and say more attention needs to be paid to boosting the resident population and services they need.
AP Video shot by Paolo Santalucia
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