Venice is one of the world’s most iconic cities, famous for its canals and history, but mass tourism has created big problems. About 20 million visitors come every year, which affects local life, the environment, and historic buildings.
In the past years, Venice has managed to take some measures to cope with mass tourism. In 2021 authorities started banning large cruise ships from coming into the city centre. These ships now dock outside Venice, which helps protect the canals and old buildings from damage.
Last year, Venice’s city leaders started charging a fee for day visitors. If you visit Venice just for the day, you now have to pay €5 to enter. This is being done to reduce the number of visitors to the city.
Tour groups are now limited to 25 people, and loudspeakers are banned. This makes the city quieter and less crowded . In addition, technology is used to track how many people are visiting and tries to spread them out over various parts of the city . Some of these measures are not popular among tourists, but they show Venice is serious about preserving its unique character.
Mass tourism in Venice
Image: Jean-Pierre Dalbéra from Paris, France, CC BY 2.0,
via Wikimedia Commons
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Words
- affect = here: change
- authorities = here: people who are in charge of governing the city
- ban = not allow
- charge = collect
- cope with = deal with
- crowded = too many people in a small area
- dock = here: to stay in a place where passengers can get off
- environment = the world around us; nature
- fee = amount of money you pay for something
- iconic = something famous and admired by many people
- in addition = also
- limit = not more than …
- local = in the city
- manage = here: to do something that is difficult
- measure = actions that deal with the problem
- preserve = save
- reduce = make lower
- serious = to really want to do something about a problem
- spread out = here: not have them stay in one place
- technology = new machines and software
- track = follow, watch
- unique = the only one of its kind
- various = different