Irish passengers planning a trip to Venice this summer will be charged an entry fee for their day trip in line with new crowd control measures.
From June 2022, tourists looking to explore the city for the day will have to pay up to €10 to enter the canal city.
It is due to be tested for a six-month period with the view of bringing the new rule into permanent operation from 2023.
The move was decided after the Easter holidays proved to be incredibly busy with a peak of 160,000 tourists entering the city on Saturday, April 16.
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With the widespread easing of travel restrictions, this summer season is due to be the busiest in years, and so Venice officials are working to control crowds at main attractions like Piazza San Marco and Palazzo Ducale.
According to local reports, the system will require people to book their day's visit to Venice in advance.
Once booked and paid for, visitors will be sent a QR code that can be scanned on turnstiles at Venice's main access points.
Simone Venturini, Venice’s tourism councillor, told La Repubblica: "The experimental phase begins in June when day tourists will be invited to book through a website that is being completed by the council.
"Those who book will receive incentives, such as discounts on entering museums. To determine the access fee, we will set a maximum threshold of 40,000 or 50,000 visitors a day."
The fee will apply to everyone on day trips, but will not be charged to those living in the city or their relatives, as well as children under six, and people staying at least one night in local hotels - however, they will have to sign up to the system regardless.
All residents, workers, and students that travel into or through Venice on a daily basis will also be given free access with a code to use at the turnstiles.
The new rules will also mean that if the maximum number of visitors allowed is reached on any given day, some will be turned away.
Marco Bettini, director of Venis, the IT company that designed the booking system, spoke to Reuters last year when plans were being talked through and said: "There is a physical limitation on the number of people that can be in the city at the same time.
"We don't want to leave anyone behind or stop people from coming to Venice.
“We want people to book in advance, tell us where they want to go, what they want to visit, in order to provide a better quality of service."
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