Officials in Venice are making the tourist destination the world’s first city to charge an entry fee for people visiting for the day, according to CNN.
The change will run travelers anywhere from $3.25 to $10.85 depending on the season.
Mayor Luigi Brugnaro first announced the plan in 2018, but it was delayed due to the pandemic, according to Afar magazine.
Some 25 million to 30 million tourists traveled to the famed northern Italian city each year before COVID-19, Afar reported. The city has a population of just 50,000 residents.
Day visitors will need to book a reservation online beginning this summer, and the entry fee will take effect in January 2023, city officials say.
Mr. Brugnaro called the new system “a more balanced management of tourism” in a tweet Monday.
The Points Guy, a U.S.-based travel website and blog, reported in January that the city would install 500 closed-circuit TV cameras and monitor mobile phone data to track visitors.
Tourists staying in hotels overnight will be exempt from the “disembarkation tax,” according to the Italian newspaper Venezia Today.
