Venice awaits Unesco heritage ruling as beds for tourists outnumber residents for first time

Tourists on the Rialto Bridge. The UN cultural agency said in July that Venice faced ‘irreversible’ damage due to factors ranging from tourism to climate breakdown. Photograph: Bloomberg/Getty Images

The number of beds available to tourists on Venice’s main island has surpassed the number of year-round residents for the first time, as a Unesco decision on the city’s future on the world heritage site list looms.

There are now 49,693 tourist beds across hotels and rented holiday homes, compared with 49,304 inhabitants.