ROME -- “Venice is a place for all humanity, whoever comes to visit it must respect it”. With this hope, the mayor of Venice Luigi Brugnaro presented within the BIT - Milan International Tourism Exchange, in the pavilions of the Milan Fair, the experimentation of the access contribution in the city. As regards the provision, which originates from the 2019 budget law, then updated in 2021, the mayor recalled that the objective is to define a new management system for tourist flows and to discourage daily tourism in Venice in certain periods, in line with the delicacy and uniqueness of the city, to guarantee it the full respect it deserves. “The ticket is necessary in Venice: the objective is not to close the city, but to keep it from exploding," the mayor explained to the information operators, "it is an experimental measure that serves to try to make a historic center that is difficult to manage, but also difficult to maintain, bookable. We need everyone's understanding, because we can't all be together at the same time."

The contribution will be requested only for 29 days, more precisely 25, 26, 27, 28, 29 and 30 April 2024, 1, 2, 3, 4, 5, 11, 12, 18, 19, 25, 26 May 2024, 8 , 9, 15, 16, 22, 23, 29, 30 June 2024 and 6, 7, 13 and 14 July 2024.

Contribution
The amount for 2024 will be 5.00 Euros per day and there are no reductions. There will not even be the identification of an attendance threshold beyond which to apply an increase in the access fee. The contribution will be applied only to the ancient city and not to the smaller islands including the Lido of Venice (including Alberoni and Malamocco), Pellestrina, Murano, Burano, Torcello, Sant'Erasmo, Mazzorbo, Mazzorbetto, Vignole, S. Andrea, the Certosa , San Servolo, S. Clemente, Poveglia.

Collection
The "heart of the system" will be the multi-channel and multilingual platform, created by Venis Spa. The collection will take place directly by the Municipality of Venice, above all through a web-app accessible at the address https://cda.ve.it by accessing which you will be able to obtain the title (QR Code) to show in case of checks. The title certifies payment of the contribution or the condition of exclusion/exemption and must always be kept with you.

Who will have to pay the access fee

Specifically, it has been established that the access fee must be paid by every person, over the age of 14, who accesses the ancient city of the Municipality of Venice, unless they fall within the exclusion categories and exemptions. Generally speaking, the contribution will be requested from daily visitors who do not stay in facilities located in the Municipality of Venice.

Who will be excluded from payment

According to the law, residents in the Municipality of Venice, workers (employed or self-employed), including commuters, students of any level and level of schools and universities located in the Ancient city or in the smaller islands, the subjects and members of the families of those who appear to have paid the IMU in the Municipality of Venice.

Who will be exempt from payment

 All those staying in accommodation facilities located within the municipal territory (overnight tourists), residents in the Veneto Region, children up to 14 years of age, those in need of care, those who participate in sports competitions, police forces on duty, the spouse, partner, relatives or similar up to the 3rd degree of residents in the areas in which the access fee is valid, and a further series of exemptions provided for in the Regulation. 

Information & events

On the portal https://cda.ve.it  there is a constantly updated FAQ section.

 The conference in BIT was also an opportunity to present the schedule of events designed to be distributed throughout the year in order to make their use as fluid as possible, together with the Tourism Councilor of the Municipality of Venice, Simone Venturini , and to the operational director of Vela spa Fabrizio D'Oria. In the year of the celebrations of the 700th anniversary of the death of the famous Venetian merchant and traveler Marco Polo, a national committee #MarcoPolo700 was created, with a decree signed by the Minister of Culture Gennaro Sangiuliano, whose president is the mayor Luigi Brugnaro. The activities for the anniversary were amplified with the 2024 Carnival, entitled “Ad Oriente. The amazing journey of Marco Polo", and are continuing with exhibitions, conferences, seminars and publications, both locally, nationally and internationally. The Redentore Festival will also have a fireworks display dedicated to Marco Polo, while the Historical Regatta will recall the figure of the young Venetian traveller. The exhibition “Historical clothes from the Suzhou silk museum” will be open to visitors at Palazzo Mocenigo until 29 February, while waiting for the main exhibition at Palazzo Ducale, in the Doge's Apartment: “The worlds of Marco Polo. The journey of a Venetian merchant in the thirteenth century" from 6 April to 29 September. Many public activities of a scientific, exhibition, literary and cultural nature have already been planned, but the list of initiatives could be enriched with new proposals: on the official website www.leviedimarcopolo.it , also translated into English and Chinese, there is a dedicated section through which public and private entities who in various capacities have a historical link with Marco Polo, and who are interested in proposing initiatives to be included in the calendar of events, can send their project.

 “The Vela spa company operates on behalf of the public administration for reception and promotion functions of the city - added the operational director of Vela spa Fabrizio D'Oria - This last aspect requires an ever greater commitment to devise proposals that take into account multiple factors, of a continuously evolving society and of a sustainable balance between citizens' needs and visitors' expectations. In this sense, among Vela's institutional tasks is the promotion of the Venetian territory and, in particular, the economic valorisation of the prestigious assets owned by the Municipality of Venice. Thanks also to the recent strategic interventions of the municipal administration, for example, the Lido is regaining a central role in conference activity while the Arsenale is increasingly opening itself up to high-level events and fairs, at the same time as an increasingly widespread activity throughout the territory. And to plan a schedule of events that qualifies the city's offer by enhancing specific excellences as happens on the occasion of the Boat Show and the Italian High Crafts Show."

 “Venice, 'the oldest city of the future', has demonstrated its ability to interpret innovations," explained Tourism Councilor Simone Venturini, "our objective is to find a new balance between the needs of those who live in Venice, works or studies there and those who intend to visit and get to know Venice. The "hit and run" complicates the management of flows on certain days, in favor of all visitors who intend to get to know our city in more depth by taking the right amount of time (at least one/two nights) to get in tune with it and to discover the its artistic heritage, its traditions, its craftsmanship. In 2024 we will experiment with this access with reservation for 29 days and we will take advantage of this experience".

 The 2024 program includes traditional events that reaffirm the historical-cultural heritage of the city, events that have now fully become part of the city calendar, such as the Boat Show, which this year will reach its fifth edition and which is aimed at a transversal public, from professionals to families, and to the more recent Salone dell'Alto Artigianato Italiano, which in its first edition, in 2023, was a success with the public and the enthusiasm of the exhibitors. Great music in the city has been confirmed with the Homage to G. Puccini of the La Fenice Theater in Piazza San Marco (13 July), in addition to the many initiatives that will enhance the Lido coast with its equipped beaches and the wide variety of sports that can be practiced outside.

 “We are waiting for you in Venice and I tell you this from the heart," concluded Mayor Brugnaro, "but respect is needed: respect for the guests, respect for the citizens and for the city. And perhaps, if this experiment works, it can be used in other places in the world."