Venice Officials Defend Day-Tripper Tax, But Delay The Decision On Extending It

Venice city officials said Friday that the day-tripper tax netted 2.4 million euros ($2.6 million) during a test phase this summer, and that decisions on how to proceed would be made in the fall after a full analysis of the data.

According to the city, the 5-euro tax was paid 485,062 times over the 29 test days, mostly weekends and holidays, from April 25 to July 14. The final numbers included paper access tickets sold to bus tours, cruise ships and some tour operators, accounting for about 1,000 entrances on each of the test days.

Italians accounted for 60% of visitors to the ticket website in the period, followed by U.S., German and French citizens, ranging from 6.5% to 4% of the totals.

City officials have indicated that the system, where day-trippers pay an entrance fee, would be extended next year, and doubled to 10 euros, at least on some days, but did not make any immediate announcements.

Mayor Luigi Brugnaro said that the city would consider adjusting the fee based on if the tax is paid in advance, or at the last minute. He defended the tourist tax from critics, who called it a failure for allegedly not deterring arrivals, as envisioned.

“We listened to citizens, to associations, to thousands of people, but in the end, there were no alternative solutions to ours,” Brugnaro said. “We thought to take this road of the controls, which were light enough, not invasive.”

Visitors not staying in lodging in the city were required to download a QR code showing they had paid the tax; officials said that the average length of the transaction was 2 minutes. Hotel guests, who pay a lodging tax, were exempt, as were people living in the Veneto region, visitors under 14, and those visiting relatives, among others.

Venice has long been grappling with overtourism, with estimates of 25 million to 30 million annual arrivals of both day-trippers and overnight guests roughly confirmed by cell phone data tracked from a Smart Control Room since 2020, according to city officials.

The day-tripper tax, delayed by the pandemic, was heralded by UNESCO member states when they decided against a recommendation to place the city on its list of world heritage sites in danger. The city had escaped inclusion on the list two years earlier when it imposed a cruise ship ban down the Giudecca canal and through St. Mark’s Basin.

The city’s top tourist official, Simone Venturini, said the entrance fee marked “a cultural revolution.”

“For the first time in the world, a city has an instrument that allows to finally have clear data, and not just approximate estimates, not longer interpretations of data, but exact data” of people entering and leaving the city,’’ he said.

BY COLLEEN BARRY

Travelore News: Venice Rolls Out Day-Tripper Fee To Try To Regulate Mass Crowds On Peak Weekends

Venice authorities on Thursday unveiled a pilot program to charge day-trippers 5 euros ($5.45) apiece to enter the fragile lagoon city on peak weekends next year in an effort to reduce crowds, encourage longer visits and improve the quality of life for residents.

The rollout of the tourist “contribution” program came after Venice, a UNESCO World Heritage site, narrowly escaped being placed on the U.N. agency’s danger list earlier this year because of the threat that overtourism was having on its delicate ecosystem. Member states cited the proposed new entry fee in deciding to spare Venice from the list.

Venice Mayor Luigi Brugnaro stressed Thursday that the fee is not a new tourist tax or an attempt to bring in extra revenue. Rather, he said, it is a first-of-its-kind experiment in regulating tourist flows in one of the world’s most-visited places by incentivizing visitors to avoid high-traffic periods and come on other days.

“Our attempt is to make a more livable city,” he said at a news conference outlining the pilot program.

In all, 29 days from April to mid-July -– including most weekends --- will be subject to the day-tripper fee during peak hours from 8:30 a.m. until 4 p.m., meaning visitors who come into Venice for dinner or a concert won’t have to pay.

A host of exemptions apply, including for residents and Venetian-born visitors, students and workers, as well as tourists who have hotel or other lodging reservations.

Starting on Jan. 16, a website, www.cda.ve.it, will go live at which visitors can “reserve” their day in Venice. Day trippers pay 5 euros and get a QR code that will then be checked at spot controls at seven access points around the city, including at the main train station.

Visitors with hotel reservations enter their hotel information and also get a QR code to show, without having to pay since their hotel bill will already include a Venice lodging fee.

After COVID-19 lockdowns devastated Venice’s tourism industry, the city of narrow alleyways, canals and islands has been trying to rethink its relationship with visitors in a more sustainable way while also seeking to incentivize its residents to stay put.

Venice has been forced to take action in response to the steady exodus of Venetians to the mainland and pressure from UNESCO and environmentalists, who also lobbied successfully to have the government ban big cruise ships from sailing past St. Mark’s Square and through the Giudecca canal.

Venice has been pointing to longer-term tourists as key to its survival since they tend to spend more. Brugnaro said in no way does the new day-tripper contribution discourage tourism overall, but just seeks to manage it better. He acknowledged the visitor program will probably have glitches and will need to be amended. But he said that after years of study and talk, it was time to roll it out.

BY NICOLE WINFIELD, AP

Italy Faces New Drought Alert As Venice Canals Run Dry

Weeks of dry winter weather have raised concerns that Italy could face another drought after last summer's emergency, with the Alps having received less than half of their normal snowfall, according to scientists and environmental groups.

The warning comes as Venice, where flooding is normally the primary concern, faces unusually low tides that are making it impossible for gondolas, water taxis and ambulances to navigate some of its famous canals.

The problems in Venice are being blamed on a combination of factors -- the lack of rain, a high pressure system, a full moon and sea currents.

Italian rivers and lakes are suffering from severe lack of water, the Legambiente environmental group said on Monday, with attention focused on the north of the country.

The Po, Italy's longest river which runs from the Alps in the northwest to the Adriatic has 61% less water than normal at this time of year, it added in a statement.

Last July Italy declared a state of emergency for areas surrounding the Po, which accounts for roughly a third of the country's agricultural production and suffered its worst drought for 70 years.

"We are in a water deficit situation that has been building up since the winter of 2020-2021," climate expert Massimiliano Pasqui from Italian scientific research institute CNR was quoted as saying by daily Corriere della Sera.

"We need to recover 500 millimetres in the north-western regions: we need 50 days of rain," he added.

Water levels on Lake Garda in northern Italy have fallen to record lows, making it possible to reach the small island of San Biagio on the lake via an exposed pathway.

An anticyclone has been dominating the weather in western Europe for 15 days, bringing mild temperatures more normally seen in late spring.

Latest weather forecasts do however signal the arrival of much-needed precipitation and snow in the Alps in coming days.

By Cristina Carlevaro; Editing by Keith Weir and Hugh Lawson

Venice Introduces Mandatory Day-Trippers’ Reservation And Fee

Starting in January, Venice will oblige day-trippers to make reservations and pay a fee to visit the historic lagoon city, in a bid to better manage visitors who often far outnumber residents in the historic center, clogging narrow streets and heavily-used foot bridges crossing the canals.

Note that selfie sticks are frowned upon in Venice.
Venice officials on Friday unveiled new rules for day-trippers, which go into effect on Jan. 16, 2023.

Tourists who choose not to stay overnight in hotels or other lodgings will have to sign up online for the day they plan to come and pay a fee. These range from 3 to 10 euros ($3.15 to $10.50) per person, depending on advance booking and whether it’s peak season or the city is very crowded.

Transgressors risk fines as high as 300 euros ($315) if stopped and unable to show proof they booked and paid with a QR Code.

Roughly four-fifths of all tourists come to Venice just for the day. In 2019, the last full year of tourism before the pandemic, some 19 million day-trippers visited Venice and provided just a fraction of the revenue from those staying for at least one night.

Venice’s tourism commissioner brushed off any suggestion that the measure would seek to limit the number of out-of-towners coming to Italy’s most-visited city.

“We won’t talk about number cutoffs. We’re talking about incentives and disincentives,” Simone Venturini told a news conference in Venice.

The reservation-and-fee approach had been discussed a few years ago, but was put on hold during the pandemic. COVID-19 travel restrictions saw tourism in Venice nearly vanish — and let Venetians have their city practically to themselves, for the first time in decades.

Mass tourism began in the mid-1960s. Visitor numbers kept climbing, while the number of Venetians living in the city steadily dwindled, overwhelmed by congestion, the high cost of delivering food and other goods in car-less Venice, and frequent flooding that damages homes and businesses.

Since guests at hotels and pensions already pay a lodging tax, they are exempt from the reserve-and-fee obligation.

With the new rule, Venice aims to “find this balance between (Venetian) resident and long-term and short-term” visitors, Venturini said, promising that the new system “will be simple for visitors” to manage. He billed Venice as the first city in the world putting such a system for day-only visitors in place.

The tourism official expressed hope that the fee-and-reservation obligation will “reduce frictions between day visitors and residents.” In peak tourism system, tourists can outnumber residents 2-to-1, in the city that measures 5 square kilometers (2 square miles) in area.

Venice’s resident population in the historic city numbers just over 50,000, a small fraction of what it was a couple of generations ago.

Exceptions to the day-tripper fees include children younger than 6, people with disabilities and those owning vacation apartments in Venice, provided they can show proof they pay real estate taxes.

Cruise ships contribute to the hordes of visitors swarming Venice’s maze of narrow streets, especially near St. Mark’s Square, when they disembark day-trippers for a few hours. Those visitors will have to pay, too, unless their cruise liner company pays a set fee to Venice.

By FRANCES D'EMILIO

Renaissance Synagogues Being Restored In Venice’s Ghetto

Venice’s Jewish ghetto is considered the first in Europe and one of the first in the world, and a new effort is underway to preserve its 16th-century synagogues for the Jews who have remained and tourists who pass through.

For nearly two years, restorers have been peeling away paint and discovering the original foundations of three of the ghetto’s synagogues, which are considered the only Renaissance synagogues still in use, art historian David Landau said.

Landau is spearheading the fundraising effort to restore the synagogues and nearby buildings both for Venice’s small Jewish community, which numbers around 450 people, and for tourists who can visit them on a guided tour through the Jewish Museum of Venice.

“I was really deeply offended by the state of the synagogues,” said Landau, a Renaissance specialist who bought a home in Venice 12 years ago. “I felt that the synagogues were in very bad condition. They had been altered beyond recognition over the centuries, and needed to be kind of cared for and loved.”

He has secured about 5 million euros to date and expects workers can complete the restoration process by the end of 2023 if the rest of the funding comes through, although the original outstanding 4 million euros has now ballooned to 6 million euros because of soaring building costs.

Venice’s ghetto dates from 1516, when the republic forced the growing numbers of Jews into the district where the old foundries, or “geti” as they were known, had been located. The area, which was locked down at night, became what is considered Europe’s first ghetto and remains the hub of Venice’s Jewish community in the Cannaregio area.

The first synagogue dates from 1528 and was built by German Ashkenazi Jews. Others followed and served different groups, including one for Spanish Sephardic Jews and one for Italian Jews.

None is visible from the street, as strict rules imposed by Venice’s rulers didn’t allow Jews to practice their faith openly. All the synagogues are hidden away on the top floors of seemingly normal buildings that on the lower levels held cramped living spaces for Jewish families.

The synagogues have remained operational continuously, except for the years of World War II during the German occupation.

The head of Venice’s Jewish community, Dario Calimani, said the restoration project was necessary both to maintain the religious and cultural life of Venice’s Jews today and to preserve the community’s history.

“They are a testimony to the life that it was, to the history of our community, small community,” he said.

Flooding In Venice Worsens Off-Season Amid Climate Change

VENICE, Italy (AP) — After Venice suffered the second-worst flood in its history in November 2019, it was inundated with four more exceptional tides within six weeks, shocking Venetians and triggering fears about the worsening impact of climate change.

The repeated invasion of brackish lagoon water into St. Mark’s Basilica this summer is a quiet reminder that the threat hasn’t receded.

“I can only say that in August, a month when this never used to happen, we had tides over a meter five times. I am talking about the month of August, when we are quiet,” St. Mark’s chief caretaker, Carlo Alberto Tesserin, told The Associated Press.

Venice’s unique topography, built on log piles among canals, has made it particularly vulnerable to climate change. Rising sea levels are increasing the frequency of high tides that inundate the 1,600-year-old Italian lagoon city, which is also gradually sinking.

It is the fate of coastal cities like Venice that will be on the minds of climate scientists and global leaders meeting in Glasgow, Scotland, at a U.N. climate conference that begins Oct. 31.

Venice’s worse-case scenario for sea level rise by the end of the century is a startling 120 centimeters (3 feet, 11 inches), according to a new study published by the European Geosciences Union. That is 50% higher than the worse-case global sea-rise average of 80 centimeters (2 feet, 7 1/2 inches) forecast by the U.N. science panel.

The city’s interplay of canals and architecture, of natural habitat and human ingenuity, also has earned it recognition as a UNESCO World Heritage site for its outstanding universal value, a designation put at risk of late because of the impact of over-tourism and cruise ship traffic. It escaped the endangered list after Italy banned cruise ships from passing through St. Mark’s Basin, but alarm bells are still ringing.

Sitting at Venice’s lowest spot, St. Mark’s Basilica offers a unique position to monitor the impact of rising seas on the city. The piazza outside floods at 80 centimeters (around 30 inches), and water passes the narthex into the church at 88 centimeters (34.5 inches), which has been reinforced up from a previous 65 centimeters (25.5 inches).

“Conditions are continuing to worsen since the flooding of November 2019. We therefore have the certainty that in these months, flooding is no longer an occasional phenomenon. It is an everyday occurrence,” said Tesserin, whose honorific, First Procurator of St. Mark’s, dates back to the ninth century.

In the last two decades, there have been nearly as many inundations in Venice over 1.1 meters — the official level for “acqua alta,” or “high water,” provoked by tides, winds and lunar cycles — as during the previous 100 years: 163 vs. 166, according to city data.

Exceptional floods over 140 centimeters (4 feet, 7 inches) also are accelerating. That mark has been hit 25 times since Venice starting keeping such records in 1872. Two-thirds of those have been registered in the last 20 years, with five, or one-fifth of the total, from Nov. 12-Dec. 23, 2019.

“What is happening now is on the continuum for Venetians, who have always lived with periodic flooding,” said Jane Da Mosto, executive director of We Are Here Venice. “We are living with flooding that has become increasingly frequent, so my concern is that people haven’t really realized we are in a climate crisis. We are already living it now. It is not a question of plans to deal with it in the future. We need to have solutions ready for today.”

Venice’s defense has been entrusted to the Moses system of moveable underwater barriers, a project costing around 6 billion euros (nearly $7 billion) and which, after decades of cost overruns, delays and a bribery scandal, is still officially in the testing phase.

Following the devastation of the 2019 floods, the Rome government put the project under ministry control to speed its completion, and last year start activating the barriers when floods of 1.3 meters (4 feet, 3 inches) are imminent.

The barriers have been raised 20 times since October 2020, sparing the city a season of serious flooding but not from the lower-level tides that are becoming more frequent.

The extraordinary commissioner, Elisabetta Spitz, stands by the soundness of the undersea barriers, despite concerns by scientists and experts that their usefulness may be outstripped within decades because of climate change. The project has been delayed yet again, until 2023, with another 500 million euros ($580 million) in spending, for “improvements” that Spitz said will ensure its long-term efficiency.

“We can say that the effective life of the Moses is 100 years, taking into account the necessary maintenance and interventions that will be implemented,” Spitz said.

Paolo Vielmo, an engineer who has written expert reports on the project, points out that the sea level rise was projected at 22 centimeters (8 1/2 inches) when the Moses was first proposed more than 30 years ago, far below the U.N. scientists’ current worse-case scenario of 80 centimeters.

“That puts the Moses out of contention,” he said.

According to current plans, the Moses barriers won’t be raised for floods of 1.1 meters (3 feet, 7 inches) until the project receives final approval. That leaves St. Mark’s exposed.

Tesserin is overseeing work to protect the Basilica by installing a glass wall around its base, which eventually will protect marshy lagoon water from seeping inside, where it deposits salt that eats away at marble columns, wall cladding and stone mosaics. The project, which continues to be interrupted by high tides, was supposed to be finished by Christmas. Now Tesserin says they will be lucky to have it finished by Easter.

Regular high tides elicit a blase response from Venetians, who are accustomed to lugging around rubber boots at every flood warning, and delight from tourists, fascinated by the sight of St. Mark’s golden mosaics and domes reflected in rising waters. But businesses along St. Mark’s Square increasingly see themselves at ground zero of the climate crisis.

“We need to help this city. It was a light for the world, but now it needs the whole world to understand it,” said Annapaola Lavena, speaking from behind metal barriers that kept waters reaching 1.05 meters (3 feet, 5 inches) from invading her marble-floored cafe.

“The acqua alta is getting worse, and it completely blocks business. Venice lives thanks to its artisans and tourism. If there is no more tourism, Venice dies,” she explained. “We have a great responsibility in trying to save it, but we are suffering a lot.”

Venice Opens Film Fest With Caution

VENICE (AP) — Visitors to Venice could be forgiven for not realizing that beyond the majesty of St. Mark’s Square and the romance of gondola rides lies a city that centuries ago helped provide a baseline of what the world knows today about containing pandemics.

It was here that the term “quarantine” was coined, after merchant ships arriving in the 15th-century Venetian Republic were moored for 40 days (“quaranta giorni” in Italian) to see if their crews were afflicted with the plague. It was here that the first isolated pestilence hospital was built on a solitary island in the lagoon, a precursor to today’s COVID-19 isolation wards. And it was in Venice that 16th-century doctors donned beak-nosed masks filled with aromatic herbs to cleanse the air they breathed when treating the sick — an attempt at self-protection that today is the favored choice for Venetian Carnival costumes.

Venice’s central place in the history of battling pandemics provides a relevant backdrop to this year’s Venice Film Festival, which opens Wednesday with the premiere of Pedro Almodovar’s in-competition film “Parallel Mothers.” Almodovar developed the project during Spain’s 2020 coronavirus lockdown, one of the harshest in the West.

In a pre-opening screening Tuesday, Italian director Andre Segre presents a short documentary shot last year showing how Venice organizers coped with COVID-19 to stage the first and only in-person international film festival during the first year of the outbreak.

The scenes in Segre’s film — shocking then, normal now — feature half-full theaters for Hollywood premieres, masked movie stars, cleaners in hazmat suits and the “blink, blink, blink” of remote thermometers taking temperatures at festival checkpoints.

Festival director Alberto Barbera said Tuesday he hopes the festival’s 2021 edition will mark the “reopening that was not the case last year.” But unlike the film festival in Cannes, which came back to life this year in France after skipping 2020, Venice still has to comply with stringent Italian anti-COVID restrictions.

A huge barricade once again is sealing off public access to the red carpet and there are limited chances for fans to catch VIP water taxi arrivals on the Lido. More than 10 testing stations have been set up, and festival-goers must show proof of a negative test, vaccination or having recently recovered from COVID-19 to enter screenings. Masks are required indoors.

In other words, the Venice show is going on — other premieres at the world’s oldest film festival include the debut of Denis Villeneuve’s “Dune” and Kristen Stewart as Princess Diana in “Spencer” — even as Italy copes with new infections driven by the highly contagious delta variant.

For Venice, though, it’s really nothing new.

“The history of Venice is a history that teaches us how our city, first among European capitals, understood ahead of time how to manage viruses,” said Simone Venturini, Venice’s tourism chief. “These recurrences are studied and recalled even more today because the Venetian model is a model that paradoxically is still used.”

Beginning with the first confirmed plague to strike Venice — the 1348 outbreak that killed at least a third of its population — the city put in place containment measures even without understanding epidemiologically how it spread, said Fabio Zampieri, a history of medicine professor at the University of Padua Medical School.

Based on the belief that “bad air” was to blame for what became known as the Black Death, Venetian authorities closed churches and restaurants, canceled religious processions and ordered a thorough cleaning of homes and public venues, Zampieri said.

During the pestilence that erupted in 1423, Venice’s senate decided to lock down the whole city, prohibiting entry of people from suspected plague-ridden places and punishing locals who gave sick foreigners shelter with six months in jail, he said. A year later, Venice opened the first “lazzaretto,” a hospital on an isolated island in the Venetian lagoon dedicated exclusively to plague victims.

Groups Warn Venice Lagoon Still At Risk After Cruise Decree

ROME (AP) — Activists opposed to cruise ships in Venice are seeking a meeting with the Italian government to argue that its latest proposal to re-route big ships away from St. Mark’s Square doesn’t address pressing environmental concerns about the fragile Venetian lagoon.

The Italian Cabinet passed a decree this week calling for a public tender of ideas to create a new docking port “outside the protected waters of the lagoon.”

Culture Minister Dario Franceschini said the decree addresses longstanding UNESCO concerns and establishes that cargo and cruise ships bigger than 40,000 tons must dock outside the lagoon.

While it’s not articulated in the decree, the temporary plan would have big ships use the Marghera Port on the Italian mainland until a definitive solution is found and implemented — a potentially years-long process.

“Whoever has been to Venice in recent years, either an Italian or foreigner, has been upset seeing these ships — hundreds of meters long and high as a condo — pass by such fragile places as the Giudecca Canal or in front of St. Mark’s Square,” Franceschini said.

He called the decree a “very important” way to come up with a definitive new solution.

But the No Big Ships Committee, a coalition of activists, said the Marghera Port is still part of the Venetian lagoon and therefore must be rejected even as a temporary solution. The new route envisaged would take ships past the tail of the Lido and then hug the Italian mainland via the Oil Canal, away from Venice’s historic center but still into the lagoon and up to Marghera.

“It’s certainly a relief to hear the Italian government finally state its intention to keep large ships out of the lagoon as well as block them from coming close to Venice,” said Jane da Mosto of the We Are Here Venice group, which is part of the No Big Ships coalition.

“But the interim ‘temporary’ plan to bring large cruise ships to Marghera will not protect the lagoon,” she said in an email. “This new route will still damage its fragile ecosystem, with inevitable negative knock-on effects.”

The issue has simmered in Venice for years. The fragile Italian canal city depends tourism, even though the coronavirus pandemic has dealt a blow to that industry in the last year. But opponents of cruise ship tourism say the ships are out-of-scale for Venice, cause pollution, threaten the lagoon’s ecosystem and are a danger. To back up their claims, they cite the 2019 crash of a cruise ship on Venice’s main Giudecca Canal that injured five people.
T
he No Big Ships Committee said it was seeking a meeting with the government to argue that the Oil Canal route to Marghera “is not workable.”

“Any temporary solution has to be rejected because the risk is too high that it becomes definitive,” the group tweeted.
___
By NICOLE WINFIELD

Colleen Barry contributed from Soave, Italy.

Italy Seeks To Boost Tourism By Opening Borders June 3

In this picture taken on Wednesday, May 13, 2020, keys hang at the reception of the Saturnia hotel, in Venice, Italy. Venetians are rethinking their city in the quiet brought by the coronavirus pandemic. For years, the unbridled success of Venice's tourism industry threatened to ruin the things that made it an attractive destination to begin with. Now the pandemic has ground to a halt Italy’s most-visited city, stopped the flow of 3 billion euros in annual tourism-related revenue and devastated the city's economy. (AP Photo/Antonio Calanni)

VENICE, Italy (AP) — The Italian government announced Saturday that it will throw open its borders next month, effectively ending Europe’s longest and strictest coronavirus lockdown just as the summer tourism season gets under way.

Both regional and international borders will open June 3, with the government eliminating a 14-day quarantine for anyone arriving from abroad. Many hope the move will revive a decimated tourist industry, which is worth 13% of Italy’s gross domestic product.

Such an opening is exactly what tourism operators have been waiting for -- even if European neighbors so far appeared be wary of the unilateral Italian announcement.

“We hope to work with the neighboring countries, those who can travel by car,” said Gianni Serandrei, the owner of the 4-star Hotel Saturnia near St. Mark’s Square.

The hotel’s last guest -- a determined couple of honeymooners from Argentina -- checked out around March 11, days after Italy’s lockdown. And when phones have rung in recent months, it has been with cancellations, with only a few reservations for 2021 trickling in.

Serandrei said that Saturnia’s clients are overwhelmingly foreign, making open borders and an eventual resumption of air traffic key to a successful season. With no clear indication of when more regular air traffic will resume, he is looking forward to further signals before committing to a June 3 opening. The caution may be merited.

Germany -- whose border is about a 4-hour drive from Venice through Austria -- is instructing citizens not to travel abroad for tourism until at least June 15. And officials in neighboring France made clear that they had sought a coordinated European effort on border openings, indicating Italy had jumped the gun.

During a visit to a Normandy beach, Interior Minister Christophe Castaner said on Saturday that European countries should work together in solidarity and held out the possibility of France acting to protect its citizens.

Italy’s national hotel federation said that by April the sector had already shed 106,000 jobs, with occupancy dropping by 99% for foreigners and 96% for Italians. Another half a million jobs are at risk if the summer season does not take off, according to the association.

Judged by last year’s turnover, the virus lockdown and suspension of touristic activities cost the country 10 billion euros ($10.8 billion), the amount spent by foreigners in Italy from March to May 2019, according to a study by the national statistics agency ISTAT.

To illustrate the importance of arrivals from nearby countries, Eurostat figures show that French overnight stays in Italy hit 14 million last year, while those from Germany came in at 13.6 million, edging Italians themselves at 13.5 million. Spaniards were the top with 14.6 million.

Italy is hoping also to encourage domestic tourism, offering vouchers to lower income families to spend in Italian hotels, campgrounds and other establishments before the end of the year.

Not everyone is satisfied with the guidelines set out overnight by the government, which foresees the opening Monday of bars, restaurants, shops, hairdressers and beauticians.

Restaurant owners in Milan protested in front of the main train station Saturday, saying that the rules remain unclear and that the entire sector needs more concrete help, including an abolition of taxes. Many worry they will reopen only to have to close again because of lack of business.

And the head of the hotel federation in Florence said Saturday that mask requirements in open spaces seemed redundant if keeping a physical distance.

“We don’t understand why a tourist would have to stay on the terrace or in the garden of a hotel with a mask,” Francesco Bechi said. “We are very attentive to health and prevention. Clear and precise rules can guarantee services to guests.’’

By COLLEEN BARRY

_____

David McHugh in Frankfurt, Germany, and Elaine Ganley in Paris contributed.

Venice Day-Tripper Tax To Take Effect July 1, 2020

A view of the St. Mark's Square in Venice, Italy, taken on June 8, 2019. As of July 1, day-trippers to the 

MILAN (AP) — Authorities in the Italian canal city of Venice say a tax on day-trippers will start being charged on July 1, 2020.

The tax was announced nearly a year ago, but its implementation was delayed as officials worked out how it would be paid and enforced.

Authorities said Wednesday that the level of the tax will be decided closer to the date, but a law establishing it set a range of 3-10 euros ($3.30-$11) a day.

Visitors staying overnight already pay a tax as part of their accommodation charge.

In the coming months, city officials will announce details of how visitors can pay the tax, with efforts focused on pre-payments over the internet or in neighboring provinces.

Exceptions will be made for those visiting Venice for work, study or family reasons.

Travelore News: Venice To Charge All Visitors To Access Historic Center

VENICE, Italy (AP) — The mayor of Venice says Italy’s new budget law will allow the lagoon city to charge all visitors for accessing the historic center, not just those spending the night.

Mayor Luigi Brugnaro announced on Twitter late Sunday that the tax will be extended to include anyone arriving in the city to “allow us to manage the city better and to keep it clean,” and “allow Venetians to live with more decorum.” The city council will determine the tax amount and collection mode.

Some 25 million people visit Venice each year, with about one-fifth spending at least one night in the historic center. Overnight visitors are currently charged a small tax per night.

Brugnaro said the substantial cost of cleaning and maintaining security has so far been paid “only by Venetians.”

Venice Is Banning Kayaks, Canoes, And Other Boats From The Grand Canal

Getty Images

ANDREA ROMANO 

AUGUST 03, 2018

Locals and tourists in Venice will have to look for some other means of getting around the city now that a new regulation will ban certain types of boats from the Grand Canal.

As of August 1, authorities are now prohibiting recreational boats such as canoes, kayaks, paddleboards and others from being used in the canal, The Local reported. People who live or own businesses in the historic district, however, are exempt from the complete ban and will still be able to use their boats during restricted times.

And don’t worry if you had your heart set on a gondola ride – traditional Venetian watercraft are still allowed.

Following the death of a German tourist in 2013, regulations on the Grand Canal have slowly become stricter, beginning with fewer ferries on the waterway, The Local reported in 2013.

The new measure is simply a further piling on of measures in the name of public safety. Up until August 1, recreational boats were only allowed on the canal at peak times during the day.

The ban affects not only the Grand Canal, but also Cannaregio Canal and other waterways. Less busy, smaller canals will only enforce the ban during certain times of the day, namely peak hours.

If you’re planning a trip to Venice any time soon, consider saving a few euro for the public transport.

Source: https://www.travelandleisure.com/travel-news/venice-bans-kayaks-canoes

Summer 2017 Travel: 10 Places To Go Where The Airfare Is Low From Cheapflights.Com, As Low As 40% Less Than Last Year

Start Planning Your Summer Getaway with These 10 Places to Where the Airfare is Low

If you put off that big summer vacation last year, this year might be the time to pick up and go. The travel experts at Cheapflights.com, the leader in finding and publishing online travel deals, have found that even after last summer’s seemingly record-low airfares, average flight prices to over half of the most popular destinations are shaping up to be more affordable this summer. A year-over-year comparison reveals a number of great getaways with notable (as much as 41 percent) discounts over last year’s average flight prices.

Pulling from this research, the Cheapflights.com team has made its picks for 10 places to go where the airfare is low with a line-up of destinations near and far to help you shape your summer travel plans. Check out these destinations that top the list and start packing:

·         Barcelona, Spain, down 41% over last summer – Admiring Pablo Picasso’s art at the Museu Picasso, strolling Las Ramblas, walking through Gaudi’s Parc Guell and sampling Spanish wines and savory tapas are perennially popular pastimes in Barcelona. Thanks to the newly opened L9 metro line, visitors can now quickly and cheaply travel from Barcelona Airport to the city. Barcelona offers many new attractions this year, including the newly opened Ferrari Land and the opening of Sant Pau’s newly restored Sant Salvador hall. Barcelona is also hosting the 10th annual Circuit Festival, the largest LGBTQA festival in the world.

·          Venice, Italy, down 31% over last summer – A trip to Venice, Italy, is always a priceless experience. Adding inexpensive airfare only sweetens the deal. There's plenty to do in the summertime, including experiencing the new Viva Vivaldi multimedia show at the Museo Diocesano d'Arte Sacra, which pays homage to Venetian composer Antonio Vivaldi. Venice’s social summer calendar is also filled with notable events like the Festa di San Marco, a water parade of traditional row boats; La Biennale, the (mostly) free art biennial event that features hundreds of international artists; and the Venice Film Festival in the Lido.

·          Lisbon, Portugal, down 26% over last summer – Step back in time in Lisbon, Portugal. The coastal capital city is the picture-perfect place for summertime strolls past ornate, colonial architecture, historic sites like St. George’s Castle and Instagram-worthy views. Take a break from walking and hop on Tram 28 through the hilly Alfama neighborhood and get lost in the narrow, cobblestone streets flanked by cafes and shops.

·         Knoxville, Tennessee, down 17% over last summer – Knoxville, Tenn., has a rich 225-year-old history that has beckoned travelers for decades. Music lovers will appreciate this summer's cheap airfare, as well as diverse musical offerings, including free live music six days a week at the Downtown Visitors Center and A-list country and rock ‘n’ roll concerts. A free trolley whisks travelers around downtown where visitors can learn more about the Civil War sites in the area.

·         Dublin, Ireland, down 16% over last summer – The U.S. now has 20 airports offering direct flights to Ireland, making access easy and increasing the chances of scoring cheap airfare. You don’t need the luck of the Irish to discover Dublin on a budget either. We’ve found plenty of cheap (and many free) things to do in the capital of the Emerald Isle, like shopping local at the popular Ha’Penny Vintage and Craft Market, listening to local musicians for free at Whelan’s and people watching on Grafton Street. Summertime is also prime time to visit Dublin. Special events this summer include Bloomsday in celebration of James Joyce, Taste of Dublin and the Dublin Writers Festival.

Five equally awesome destinations (also with lower average airfares this summer) include: Colorado Springs, Colorado; Charleston, South Carolina; Hilo, Hawaii; Guatemala City, Guatemala, and Spokane, Washington. For more details and Cheapflights.com’s complete list of 10 places to go where the airfare is low, head to www.cheapflights.com/news/summer-airfare-deals.

San Clemente Palace Kempinski Opens On Its Own Private Island In Venice

Dining on the terrace at Acquerello restaurant with a view of the Venice skyline The San Clemente Palace Kempinski Venice, the luxury resort set in a former monastery, is now open on its own private island in the Venice lagoon, 10 minutes by luxury speedboat from Piazza San Marco. The San Clemente Palace Kempinski's 190 guestrooms and suites have sweeping views of the Venice skyline, Giudecca, the lagoon and the Lido, to the gardens or the romantic courtyards. A special highlight is the newly built San Clemente Suite, located in the former monastery laundry, featuring a living room, master bedroom and two bathrooms with massive panoramic windows boasting the best view of Venice. The Marco Polo Suite at San Clemente Palace Kempinski  The San Clemente Suite can also be booked together with the adjacent Navigante Suite (the hotel's second largest suite, with more than 1,075 square feet), along with five Navigante Junior Suites and the Marco Polo Suite--forming a private Palazzo a Venezia.  Guests can arrive to their own private "resort within the resort" via a private boat dock, located just in front of the Navigante Wing and suitable for yachts up to 115 feet. The San Clemente Palace Kempinski also features three restaurants and three bars, including: the fine dining haute Italian restaurant, Acquerello, with an extraordinary view of the lagoon and the Venice skyline; the Mediterranean al fresco restaurant, La Dolce; and the breakfast restaurant, Insieme.  The private island also boasts a pitch & putt golf course, a tennis court, heated outdoor pool and outdoor jogging trails, as well as a Kempi Kids Club for younger guests.   "It is exciting to finally welcome our first guests at San Clemente Island," says Benedikt Jaschke, General Manager of San Clemente Palace Kempinski.  "We have worked toward this moment and now we can finally host guests. San Clemente Palace Kempinski has a lot to offer and we are very much looking forward to our first season in Venice." The San Clemente Palace Kempinski will be open for its inaugural season through November 8, 2016. Nightly rates start from €500 for Superior Rooms, €900 for Junior Suites, €5,500 for the Navigante Suite and €10,000 for the San Clemente Suite, all inclusive of breakfast at the resort's Insieme Restaurant. For more information about the San Clemente Palace Kempinski, please visit:www.kempinski.com/venice. ABOUT SAN CLEMENTE PALACE KEMPINSKI VENICE: The resort hotel has an impressive heritage and is uniquely situated on San Clemente Island in the Lagoon of Venice. Set among a centuries-old park, antique courtyards and monastery buildings, the hotel provides the perfect setting for total relaxation, just minutes from the bustle of Venice. All 190 rooms and suites provide a stunning view of Venice, the lagoon, the gardens or the inner courtyards. The hotel also offers six convention rooms for up to 450 people, and together with the whole complex and its surrounding grounds, it is the ideal place for weddings and other events,with the historic scenery providing an unforgettable setting.   ABOUT KEMPINSKI: Created in 1897, Kempinski Hotels is Europe's oldest luxury hotel group. Kempinski's rich heritage of impeccable personal service and superb hospitality is complemented by the exclusivity and individuality of its properties. Kempinski now comprises a portfolio of 78 five-star hotels in 33 countries and continues to add new properties in Europe, the Middle East, Africa and Asia. Each one reflects the strength and success of the Kempinski brand without losing sight of its heritage. The portfolio comprises historic landmark properties, award-winning urban lifestyle hotels, outstanding resorts, and prestigious residences. Each one is imbued with the quality guests have come to expect from Kempinski while embracing the cultural traditions of its location. Kempinski is a founding member of the Global Hotel Alliance (GHA), the world's largest alliance of independent hotels, which celebrated its tenth anniversary in 2014.

Venice's Gondolas Become Accessible To Wheelchair Users

A man sitting on a wheelchair is boarded on a gondola in Venice, Italy, Friday, March 11, 2016. 

MILAN (AP) — With is many arched bridges, Venice cannot claim to be among the world's most wheelchair-friendly cities. But a pair of gondoliers is challenging that image.

A new private-public project, dubbed gondolas4all, on Friday unveiled the first access point for wheelchair users to board one of Venice's storied black-lacquered gondolas.

Gondolier Alessandro Dalla Pieta said that over 20 years he had seen "people in wheelchairs dozens of times looking at us as if we were the last Coca Cola in the desert. It tugged at my heart."

The service, from car-accessible Piazzale Roma, will begin in about six weeks, after gondoliers are trained in operating the lift. Visitors can book a ride at the usual tariffs, set by the city, at the website www.gondolas4all.com.

Carnivals 101: A Guide To Some Of The Greatest Shows On Earth

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Swept away in a sea of feather headdresses as sequins ping from overtight costumes, few travellers stop to wonder why carnivals exist. These riots of pre-Lenten revelry demand to be experienced rather than understood. Their common element is a gleeful up-ending of social norms, making them among the world’s most memorable travel experiences.

Many began as pagan gatherings that welcomed spring; under Christian influence, they morphed into a last hurrah before Lent, the six weeks of abstinence and reflection before Easter. For many of the most colourful customs, the original meaning has been lost in time – but logic should never get in the way of a good party. Here are some unforgettable locations to embrace carnival spirit.

Pin this imageA samba school parading in Rio's Sambadromo © T photography / Shutterstock

Rio de Janeiro, Brazil: the record-breaking ‘greatest show on Earth’

During each day of Rio’s carnival, the biggest on Earth, more than two million people samba through the streets. Many visitors simply hurl themselves into epic street parties that flow around the Brazilian capital. But the most dazzling events are the phenomenally choreographed Samba Parade and the nightly balls (all ticketed), part of a vast programme of events. The revelry is overseen by ‘King Momo’, a personification of wit and mischief who incites the crowds to dance to the rhythms of batucada, Brazil’s hypnotic samba style. Don’t forget to catch your breath with a few caipirinhas.

Make it happen: carnival fever grips Rio for five days leading up to Ash Wednesday. Rio Carnival Services (rio-carnival.net) help arrange tickets, hotels and costumes.

This year: 5-10 February 2016

Pin this imageA Mardi Gras parade on Bourbon Street in New Orleans' French Quarter © Chuck Wagner / Shutterstock

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Trinidad Carnival: a guide to party-time in Port-of-SpainFirst time Mardi Gras: top tips for New Orleans' biggest partyCarnaval de Binche: a guide to warding off evil spirits in Belgium

New Orleans, USA: bead-throwing bacchanalia in the French Quarter

Bourbon Street, in the charismatic French Quarter, anchors some of the most risque fun in the Big Easy’s notorious carnival. Expect costume competitions honouring bold feats in leatherwear, and revellers swapping strings of beads for an eyeful of bare skin (not mandatory, we hasten to add). You won’t (always) need to cover the kids’ eyes: the parade ‘krewes’ Uptown tend to lead colourful, family-friendly fun. Get an energy boost from ‘king cake’, a psychedelic cinnamon-dusted confection; if your slice contains a plastic baby, the next cake is on you.

Make it happen: weeks of January parades reach a climax on Mardi Gras (‘Fat Tuesday’, the day before Ash Wednesday). Plan with a little help from mardigrasneworleans.com.

This year: 9 February 2016

Pin this imageA procession of masked revellers making their way down a canal in Venice © Sorin Vidis / Shutterstock

Venice, Italy: masked decadence and ballroom elegance

No carnival subverts the everyday quite like Italy’s canal city. Venice’s iconic carnevale masks have a long history: for centuries they afforded citizens a guise under which to anonymously indulge their vices. Grab a mask and sashay over to headline events like the Doge’s Ball and the Grand Masquerade Ball (extravagant enough to warrant the steep ticket prices). Otherworldly highlights include the Volo dell’Angelo (Angel’s Flight), in which a beauty contest winner soars by zipwire, and costume contests, all taking place in St Mark’s Square. Energise with somefrittelle di carnevale, fried pastry balls, just don’t get crumbs on that lavish ball gown.

Make it happen: carnival season tends to run from two Saturdays before Ash Wednesday, culminating on Fat (Shrove) Tuesday. See more on carnevale.venezia.it.

This year: 23 January to 9 February 2016

Pin this imageMasqueraders taking part in Trinidad & Tobago's carnival in Port of Spain © John de la Bastide / Shutterstock

Trinidad & Tobago: calypso and carousing on a Caribbean isle

Carnival on the island duo Trinidad & Tobago has a subversive history. Festivities originated with slaves creating a parody of white settlers’ masked balls, mocking colonial authority. After slavery’s abolishment in 1834, carnivals grew ever more lively: today you can expect limbo competitions and a cast of carnival characters including verbose Pierrot Grenade, beret-wearing Sailor Mas, bats, dragons, clowns galore and ‘jab jab’, the Devil himself. Listen out for thrilling lyrical improvisation of T&T’s extempo calypso style, with the best competing to be ‘Extempo Monarch’.

Make it happen: parades strut around the island in the two days before Ash Wednesday; learn more on ncctt.org.

This year: 8-9 February 2016

Pin this imageRevellers in the traditional Gilles costume at the Carnaval de Binche © Weskerbe / Shutterstock

Binche, Belgium: surreal costumes and citrus-throwing

Identical, pin-eyed figures flood the streets of Binche during carnival. It’s not as nightmarish as it sounds: this Belgian town has one of Europe’s most unmistakeable carnival figureheads, the ‘Gille’. His ginger facial hair, green glasses and straw-padded suits have murky origins, but the costume is revered, protected and off limits unless you’re a local. Festivities reach fever pitch on Shrove Tuesday’s morning procession: twigs are brandished to ward off evil, oranges thrown (catch them for luck), and torches held aloft. By nightfall, masked participants with ostrich feathers head to Binche’s Grand Place for a big bonfire.

Make it happen: the weird and wonderful display takes place over three days before Ash Wednesday; find more info on carnavaldebinche.be.

This year: 7-9 February 2016

Pin this imageCarnival goers burn dolls to celebrate the arrival of spring as part of Maslenitsa in Russia © Oleg Proskurin / Shutterstock

Russia: usher in spring with pyrotechnics and pancakes

Numerous European countries enjoy a pancake blowout on Fat Tuesday. But no culture fries up a storm quite like the Russians, whose ‘butter week’ before Lent involves bumper quantities of bliny. Maslenitsa has its origin in a Slavic pagan festival of the sun; circular pancakes are thought to be a nod to this. Sledding and snowball fights pass time between bliny binges, while an effigy of ‘Lady Maslenitsa’ is paraded through the streets and eventually set aflame. Moscow’s Red Square is a focal point for live music, dance and plenty of pancakes. Forgiveness and family ties are core themes, so you’ll see locals happily strolling in the snow or ice skating in Gorky Park.

Make it happen: a week of gaiety precedes the effigy-burning, which takes place eight weeks before Pascha (Orthodox Easter Sunday).

This year: 6-12 March 2016

Pin this imageLocals wearing masks and sheepskins to honour Kurent, an ancient god of hedonism, as part of Ptuj's carnival © Ivan Smuk / Shutterstock

Ptuj, Slovenia: pagan revival of the hairiest kind

Pagan elements are also strong in northeast Slovenia. Locals wear masks and sheepskin – a nod to Kurent, an ancient hedonism god – forming the hairiest procession around. This shaggy troop treads the streets of Ptuj, ringing cowbells to scare away spirits and wagging long leather tongues. More than 100,000 people turn out to watch the bell-ringing, hair-tossing display. Meanwhile children dive out of the way of a demonic figure who wields a net for seizing young souls.

Make it happen: Kurentovanje is a week-long event ending with Shrove Tuesday. Learn more on kurentovanje.net.

This year: 2-9 February 2016

Pin this imageRevellers head for Carrer del Pecat (‘Sin Street’) in Sitges, the location of one of the many distinctive carnivals of Catalonia © Oscar Garriga Estrada / Shutterstock

Sitges, Catalonia: decadent disguises in Spain’s ‘Sin Street’

Catalan carnaval traditions are among Europe’s most distinctive. In Solsona, a history of animal-dangling has left locals nicknamed ‘donkey-killers’. Vilanova i la Geltrú celebrates with bone-chilling costumes and meringue fights. But free-spirited Sitges, adored across Europe for its beaches and gay clubs, draws the merriest crowds. Don’t miss Noche de las Mantillas, an excuse to dress up in traditional Spanish costume (drag encouraged), the Rua de la Disbauxa (‘Debauchery Parade’, as messy as it sounds), and the symbolic burial of a sardine. Keep the party going in clubs along Carrer del Pecat (‘Sin Street’).

Make it happen: a week of parties leads up to Ash Wednesday; learn more on carnavaldesitges.com.

This year: 4-10 February 2016

Pin this imageGoa’s carnival mixes Christian and Hindu elements into a colourful whole © Murgermari / Shutterstock

Goa: Portuguese flair transplanted to the Indian coast

Even after the crumbling of the Portuguese Empire, European flavours remain strong in its former outposts. The Portuguese brought Christianity to Goa in 1510, and their culture continues to tint carnival celebrations here. Under colonial rule, slave labourers and their masters swapped roles. These days Goa’s carnival is a mash-up of feathered costumes, fire-breathers and acrobats, with some of the Hindu pantheon thrown in; find the best parades in state capital Panaji. Indian and Portuguese cuisines feature heavily, with street food stalls and cookery competitions; just follow the robust scent of feijoada, mingling on the breeze with Goan seafood curry.

Make it happen: this four-day fiesta ends on Shrove Tuesday but the timing of carnival festivities can vary; check ahead. It’s an open-air knees-up with no tickets required.

This year: 6-9 & 14-17 February 2016

Pin this imageA carnival procession in Valletta, Malta's tiny capital © Arseniy Krasnevsky / Shutterstock

Malta: choose between darkness and light in the Mediterranean

Contrasting festivities unfold on Malta and Gozo. In the tiny Maltese capital Valletta, floats coast through the narrow streets and revellers keep energy levels high with copious sugary treats like prinjolata, a sponge cake slathered in cream and candied fruit. A ferry ride away on Gozo, a spookier mood takes hold: the town of Nadur plays host to a more spontaneous carnival in which gory or dark folklore costumes are essential, from black-clad witches to hooded gnomes, mermen and skeletons.

Make it happen: festivities occur in the five days before Shrove Tuesday; get details fromwww.visitmalta.com/en/carnival.

This year: 5-9 February 2016

By Anita Isalska