The Facts
Venice Mayor Luigi Brugnaro has announced that the Italian city will test daily visitor limits and entrance fees starting next spring to regulate the flow of tourists during its busiest tourist season.
The scheme will mandate visitors to reserve their entry to the city's historic areas online and pay €5 ($5.45) to get a QR code that will be scanned at specific entry points.
The Spin
Narrative A
Roughly 90% of tourists visiting Venice are what the city calls "hit and runs" — day trippers who frequently arrive by bus or boat from nearby locations. These tourists congest the areas surrounding the major attractions. An entry fee and visitor cap could decongest Venice and make it livable.
Narrative B
A €5 fee isn't big enough to persuade tourists to visit Venice at less crowded times and reduce tourism numbers significantly. However, the day-tripper "contribution" program will make the city more of a theme park and force residents who depend on tourism to flee.
