Venice, in beautiful Italy, is a haven for romantic getaways, soul-searching solo travellers and family vacations. Tourists of all sorts love the floating city, famous for its canals and waterways, and because of heavy visitor footfalls, the city council of Venice has implemented new regulations to keep the cleanliness of the city in check and preserve its beauty.
Photo: Venice, the “City of Water”/YouTube screen grab
If you’re planning a holiday to the “City of Water”, take note of their new tourist guidelines, or Daspos, which Venice is rather serious about enforcing.
’Venice must be respected,” said mayor Luigi Brugnaro to Lonely Planet, “and bad-mannered people who think they can come here and do what they want must understand that, thanks to local police, they will be caught, punished and expelled. From now on, we will also communicate the identities of those subject to a removal order to their embassies and consulates.”
The rules are an extension of the campaign #EnjoyRespectVenezia, which was introduced last summer. The initiative instructed visitors not to swim in canals, set up picnics in public spaces, loiter too long on bridges, litter or ride bikes throughout the city.
While Venice welcomes tourists and wants them to enjoy their time in the beautiful Italian city, preservation and cleanliness come first.
Venice’s new tourist guidelines:
No sun bathing, snacking or going for swims or dips in the canals.
No littering and walking around shirtless of in bathing costumes or shirtless anywhere in the city.
No riding bikes throughout the city.
No snacking on the ground in public or sitting, hanging out or lying down in front of shops, historic monuments and on bridges.
No drinking alcohol on the street between 8pm and 8am.
Hen and stag dos and other group celebrations are only permitted outdoors during the day or on weekends.
Day visitors will be charged an entry fee of €3 tax (£2.65/US$3.40/S$4.66) but from Jan. 1, 2020, that cost will rise to between €8 (£7/US$9/S$12.33) in high-season and €10 (£8.75/US$11/S$15.06) during “critical periods”.
All visitors will be required to use biodegradable and compostable bags and containers beginning January 2021.
Tourists who misbehave and are caught flouting Venice’s new guidelines will be sanctioned by authorities. Minor breaches will be met with fines starting at €25 (S$38.17), while more serious offences will lead to the maximum €500 (S$763.33) penalty.
Visitors who don’t follow the rules may be asked to leave Venice, and repeat offenders even risk being kicked out and banned from ever returning to the “City of Canals”.
Lonely Planet recently shared the story of two backpackers from Berlin who experienced just how serious Venice is about their new rules. The two sat on the steps of the famous Rialto bridge and decided that it was the perfect spot to cook up some coffee, so they took out their portable stove and started to make their beverage.
The pair were reported to the police by a passerby who saw them making coffee on the historic steps. The German visitors were fined €950 (S$1450.32) for and were asked to leave the city immediately. Local authorities noted that since May 2019, there have been 40 incidents of visitors being made to leave Venice for disrespecting the tourist guidelines.
The additional income from the day visitor fee (and the penalties from those who found using single-use plastics) will be utilised in the preservation and cleanliness of the city as Venice’s tourism industry is ever-increasing; the floating city receives hordes of eager visitors every year.
Tourists are not the only ones with new rules to follow; Venice is cracking down hard on local businesses who do not adopt sustainable and eco-friendly solutions. Business owners who disobey the rules will face fines, may have their business licences suspended and may be shut down.
If Venice is the next destination on your travel agenda, make sure you show the beautiful city the respect it deserves and follow these rules. /TISGRead also:
