- Written by George Wright & Adam Durbin
- BBC news
image source, Getty Images
Venice plans to ban the use of loudspeakers and groups of tourists larger than 25 people in a bid to reduce the impact of mass tourism on the Italian city.
The city announced in a statement that the new rules will go into effect in June.
It added that the use of loudspeakers was prohibited as they could “cause confusion and disruption”.
Overtourism is widely recognized as an urgent problem for the canal city, one of Europe’s most visited destinations.
Elisabetta Pesce, the city’s official in charge of security, said the latest policy “aims to improve the management of groups organized in the historic centre.”
The city has an area of just 7.6 square kilometers (2.7 square miles) but was visited by around 13 million tourists in 2019, according to Italy’s National Institute of Statistics. Visitor numbers are expected to exceed pre-pandemic levels in the coming years.
Many Venice residents are choosing to leave, fearing that tourists will overwhelm the historic island city.
Venice civic groups launched a study in April to monitor the number of beds available for both tourists and city residents.
One of them, Osio’s latest information, shows that the number of beds for tourists has increased to more than 50,000, exceeding the number of beds available for local residents.
Experts from the United Nations cultural agency accused Italian authorities of a “lack of strategic vision” to solve the problems facing one of Italy’s most beautiful cities.
In the end, UNESCO did not add Venice to its list. Italy’s Culture Minister Gennaro Sangiuliano said UNESCO recognized attempts to address the island’s problems through flood prevention systems and approval of tourist entrance fees.
Critics also argued that the ships were causing pollution and eroding the foundations of a city that regularly floods.
How are other hotspots dealing with overtourism?
Venice is not the only Italian and European hotspot grappling with tourism-related issues.
In nearby Florence, authorities banned new Airbnb and short-term holiday accommodation in the historic city center.
In 2019, Italy’s capital Rome introduced fines aimed at tourists, banned men from being shirtless in public, banned installing so-called “padlocks of love” on bridges, and cracked down on dirty food around famous tourist spots such as the spring.
Portofino’s picturesque fishing on the Italian Riviera has led to a no-wait zone at the photogenic spot should Instagram-happy tourists linger too long to snap the perfect selfie. They face a maximum fine of €275 (approximately £238).
Apart from Italy, Athens, Greece, has capped the number of visitors to its iconic Acropolis to 20,000 a day to reduce damage to its ancient temple complex.
The town of Hallstatt in the Austrian Alps (said to be the setting for the Disney movie “Frozen”) is restricting the number of tour buses and passenger cars that enter the lakeside, and taking photos by the lake. A wooden fence was installed to block the view at a popular spot. area.