08/04/2024
Anyone going to Venice, Italy this spring/summer? See this post for details on the visitor registration and tax.
The big news in Venice is a brand-new visitor registration system, which goes into effect in just a couple of weeks. If you're heading to Venice between now and mid-July, it's important to get the scoop:
For years, as the number of visitors inundating Venice has increased, local authorities have been discussing the idea of levying a fee to enter the city. (The subject of particular consternation are day trippers and those arriving by cruise ship, who pay no overnight tourist taxes.) A pilot program for that fee begins on April 25, just as the Biennale kicks off the busy season.
For this initial program, authorities have designated 29 days between late April and mid-July, mostly for those first two weeks of the Biennale, and then weekends after that. On those days, any non-resident visiting Venice is required to pre-register online. Day-trippers and cruisers will pay a €5 fee, but even those spending the night must go through the registration process and apply for an "exemption." In short, anyone visiting Venice on those days must have an official QR code. (On other days during this period, you don’t have to register.)
Here's how it works: Go to https://cda.ve.it/en/ and check the dates of your visit. If registration is required, either click "Exemptions" (if you're staying overnight) or "Payment of the fee" (if you're day-tripping, including from a cruise ship). Each individual must register separately (though children under age 14 are exempt).
The interface is workable...but it could be easier. The website is, in a word, janky — confusing in parts, and far from user-friendly.
After filling out some basic information and selecting your accommodations from a dop-down list, you'll enter the mobile number of the phone you'll use to receive your QR code. (Even just finding your country telephone code among the infinite list of flags is a chore. Pro tip: The Stars and Stripes are about three-quarters of the way down.) And then, to finalize registration, you will have 60 seconds to place a call to an Italian phone number, using the device you registered. Only then will you receive your QR code by email (mine took about 15 minutes to arrive) — or you can download it directly from the website.
[UPDATE, 4/25/24: As of the day this is going into effect, they have now added a second option: Instead of calling the Italian number, you can submit your email address to be sent a confirmation code. This is a much easier option for international travelers.]
Some hotels and tour operators (including Rick Steves tours) can help you with registration, or even do it for you; others leave it entirely up to you.
How, exactly, will this be enforced? It's hard to know. In theory, you can be stopped at any point in Venice and asked to show your QR code. There's talk of having control officers posted at the train station and other entry points on busy days to process arrivals. But the newness of the system, the likelihood that many visitors won't even know about it before arriving, and the massive crowds expected during those first couple of weeks could complicate implementation.
To top it all off, the Pope is coming. A papal visit, including Mass on St. Mark's Square, is scheduled for April 28 — just a few days after registration begins, and just as the Biennele is kicking into high gear. It's almost as if local authorities have conspired to make the rollout of their new system as challenging as possible. If you are in Venice the last week of April, be prepared for chaos. (Come si dice "pandemonium"?)
While all of this sounds stressful, ultimately it's just a tedious bureaucratic chore that should take no more than a few minutes — a hurdle well worth clearing for the joy of visiting Venice. This is being characterized as an "experiment," and presumably authorities will re-evaluate the system to decide whether it continues through the second half of the summer, and into next year and beyond.
The larger question is why Venice feels this cumbersome system is necessary. Being here this past week, I can understand it. Even at this relatively quiet time, the city is jammed with visitors. It's unsustainable, and locals are understandably grouchy and desperate. Is a registration requirement, and a fee for day trippers, the best solution? Or is there a more thoughtful approach to tame the crowds? Time will tell.
If you've made any discoveries about this new system as you plan your trip, please share your observations in the Comments. And good luck to everyone!
