Unesco may add Venice to its World Heritage in Danger list due to problems caused by overcrowding. Reuters
Unesco may add Venice to its World Heritage in Danger list due to problems caused by overcrowding. Reuters
Unesco may add Venice to its World Heritage in Danger list due to problems caused by overcrowding. Reuters
Unesco may add Venice to its World Heritage in Danger list due to problems caused by overcrowding. Reuters

Venice to charge €5 to combat overtourism during peak seasons


Panna Munyal
  • English
  • Arabic

Venice is the latest city to announce plans to control overtourism.

After Athens's Acropolis revealed plans to cap visitor numbers this month, the Italian destination – which is currently hosting the Venice International Film Festival – will curb visitor numbers by trialling a ticketing system during peak season next year.

Officials said on Tuesday that those visiting Venice for the day will be charged €5 to enter the city's historic centre, which includes famous sites such as the Rialto Bridge and St Mark's Square.

The city, known for its waterways and gondolas, also attracts crowds during the Venice Carnival, which usually falls in February.

The move to trial the ticketing system comes weeks after Unesco suggested adding Venice to its World Heritage in Danger, which includes Rachid Karami International Fair in Tripoli, Lebanon. The recommendation will be discussed further at a meeting of Unesco's World Heritage Committee in Riyadh later this month.

“Regulating tourist flows in certain periods is necessary, but that does not mean closing the city,” said the city's mayor Luigi Brugnaro. “Venice will always be open to everyone.”

Crowds flock to Venice for the annual carnival celebrations in February last year. Reuters
Crowds flock to Venice for the annual carnival celebrations in February last year. Reuters

The 30-day trial is likely to be spread out across public holidays and busy weekends in the spring and summer of next year.

Residents, commuters, students and children under the age of 14 will be exempt, as will tourists who stay in the city overnight, the local authority said in a statement.

“The objective is to discourage daily tourism in certain periods, in line with the fragility and uniqueness of the city,” it said.

It is still unclear how many tickets per day will be made available, with the plan gearing up for approval by Venice's wider city council on September 12.

According to data, about 3.2 million people stayed overnight in Venice's historic centre last year.

Unesco put Venice on its heritage list in 1987 as an “extraordinary architectural masterpiece”, but it has warned of the need for “more sustainable tourism management”. On July 31, it warned the city risked “irreversible” damage due to a string of issues ranging from climate change to mass tourism.

Other varied spots on the List of World Heritage in Danger include Abu Mena in Egypt; Hatra and Samarra in Iraq; and the Everglades National Park in the US.

Agencies contributed to this report

FULL%20FIGHT%20CARD
%3Cp%3EFeatherweight%20Bout%3A%0D%20Abdullah%20Al%20Qahtani%20v%20Taha%20Bendaoud%0D%3Cbr%3EBantamweight%20Bout%3A%0D%20Ali%20Taleb%20v%20Nawras%20Abzakh%0D%3Cbr%3EBantamweight%20Bout%3A%0D%20Xavier%20Alaoui%20v%20Rachid%20El%20Hazoume%0D%3Cbr%3EFeatherweight%20Bout%3A%0D%20Islam%20Reda%20v%20Adam%20Meskini%0D%3Cbr%3EBantamweight%20Bout%3A%0D%20Tariq%20Ismail%20v%20Jalal%20Al%20Daaja%0D%3Cbr%3EBantamweight%20Bout%3A%0D%20Elias%20Boudegzdame%20v%20Hassan%20Mandour%0D%3Cbr%3EAmateur%20Female%20Atomweight%20Bout%3A%0D%20Hattan%20Al%20Saif%20v%20Nada%20Faheem%0D%3Cbr%3EFeatherweight%20Bout%3A%0D%20Maraoune%20Bellagouit%20v%20Motaz%20Askar%0D%3Cbr%3EFeatherweight%20Bout%3A%0D%20Ahmed%20Tarek%20v%20Abdelrahman%20Alhyasat%0D%3Cbr%3EShowcase%20Featherweight%20Bout%3A%0D%20Mido%20Mohamed%20v%20Yazeed%20Hasanain%0D%3Cbr%3EShowcase%20Flyweight%20Bout%3A%0D%20Malik%20Basahel%20v%20Harsh%20Pandya%0D%3C%2Fp%3E%0A
The specs
  • Engine: 3.9-litre twin-turbo V8
  • Power: 640hp
  • Torque: 760nm
  • On sale: 2026
  • Price: Not announced yet
Some of Darwish's last words

"They see their tomorrows slipping out of their reach. And though it seems to them that everything outside this reality is heaven, yet they do not want to go to that heaven. They stay, because they are afflicted with hope." - Mahmoud Darwish, to attendees of the Palestine Festival of Literature, 2008

His life in brief: Born in a village near Galilee, he lived in exile for most of his life and started writing poetry after high school. He was arrested several times by Israel for what were deemed to be inciteful poems. Most of his work focused on the love and yearning for his homeland, and he was regarded the Palestinian poet of resistance. Over the course of his life, he published more than 30 poetry collections and books of prose, with his work translated into more than 20 languages. Many of his poems were set to music by Arab composers, most significantly Marcel Khalife. Darwish died on August 9, 2008 after undergoing heart surgery in the United States. He was later buried in Ramallah where a shrine was erected in his honour.

A MINECRAFT MOVIE

Director: Jared Hess

Starring: Jack Black, Jennifer Coolidge, Jason Momoa

Rating: 3/5

SCHEDULE

Thursday, December 6
08.00-15.00 Technical scrutineering
15.00-17.00 Extra free practice

Friday, December 7
09.10-09.30 F4 free practice
09.40-10.00 F4 time trials
10.15-11.15 F1 free practice
14.00 F4 race 1
15.30 BRM F1 qualifying

Saturday, December 8
09.10-09.30 F4 free practice
09.40-10.00 F4 time trials
10.15-11.15 F1 free practice
14.00 F4 race 2
15.30 Grand Prix of Abu Dhabi

Test

Director: S Sashikanth

Cast: Nayanthara, Siddharth, Meera Jasmine, R Madhavan

Star rating: 2/5

Tearful appearance

Chancellor Rachel Reeves set markets on edge as she appeared visibly distraught in parliament on Wednesday. 

Legislative setbacks for the government have blown a new hole in the budgetary calculations at a time when the deficit is stubbornly large and the economy is struggling to grow. 

She appeared with Keir Starmer on Thursday and the pair embraced, but he had failed to give her his backing as she cried a day earlier.

A spokesman said her upset demeanour was due to a personal matter.

War and the virus
BMW M5 specs

Engine: 4.4-litre twin-turbo V-8 petrol enging with additional electric motor

Power: 727hp

Torque: 1,000Nm

Transmission: 8-speed auto

Fuel consumption: 10.6L/100km

On sale: Now

Price: From Dh650,000

Who are the Soroptimists?

The first Soroptimists club was founded in Oakland, California in 1921. The name comes from the Latin word soror which means sister, combined with optima, meaning the best.

The organisation said its name is best interpreted as ‘the best for women’.

Since then the group has grown exponentially around the world and is officially affiliated with the United Nations. The organisation also counts Queen Mathilde of Belgium among its ranks.

Company%20profile
%3Cp%3EName%3A%20Tabby%3Cbr%3EFounded%3A%20August%202019%3B%20platform%20went%20live%20in%20February%202020%3Cbr%3EFounder%2FCEO%3A%20Hosam%20Arab%2C%20co-founder%3A%20Daniil%20Barkalov%3Cbr%3EBased%3A%20Dubai%2C%20UAE%3Cbr%3ESector%3A%20Payments%3Cbr%3ESize%3A%2040-50%20employees%3Cbr%3EStage%3A%20Series%20A%3Cbr%3EInvestors%3A%20Arbor%20Ventures%2C%20Mubadala%20Capital%2C%20Wamda%20Capital%2C%20STV%2C%20Raed%20Ventures%2C%20Global%20Founders%20Capital%2C%20JIMCO%2C%20Global%20Ventures%2C%20Venture%20Souq%2C%20Outliers%20VC%2C%20MSA%20Capital%2C%20HOF%20and%20AB%20Accelerator.%3Cbr%3E%3C%2Fp%3E%0A
The specs

Engine: 2.0-litre 4-cyl turbo

Power: 247hp at 6,500rpm

Torque: 370Nm from 1,500-3,500rpm

Transmission: 10-speed auto

Fuel consumption: 7.8L/100km

Price: from Dh94,900

On sale: now

Updated: September 06, 2023, 8:39 AM`