VENICE – Beyond 80 thousand visitors have signed up to arrive today at Venice. Only about one in ten paid the ticketeveryone else is for some reason exempt (because Venetians, workers, students: the case history, as we know, is large). Here is a first picture of the crowding of Venice that the access feeat his debut today, allows you to define in detail. Numbers updated yesterday afternoon, destined to rise further. Data which in the future could be very useful for studying them dynamics of tourism, which the registration required with the ticket will highlight. Thus, for example, from the registrations collected up to yesterday, among those exempt, the three large categories of guests of accommodation facilities (30,300), workers (15,000) and non-resident students (11,000) stand out. Following, again in terms of number of registrations, were the Venetians: 9,450, potential day-trippers, but who in the end it was decided not to charge. The group of those who do not pay the ticket because they own a house in Venice is also large: 5,300. Just over a thousand, however, were schoolchildren on trips, 1,760 relatives, and 1,363 residents inviting acquaintances to the city. Finally, to complete the picture, those who have already paid the contribution of 5 euros, a fixed amount for this year: as of yesterday there were 7,266.
CERTAIN NUMBERS
«Numbers that are in line with our expectations – comments thetourism councilor, Simone Venturini – And which we imagine will grow in the next few hours. Even those 30 thousand tourists staying overnight, guests of the accommodation facilities, are not all of them. From our estimates they should be between 40 and 45 thousand. Many will register at the last moment. And the same will happen for day trippers, who decide based on the weather.” In short, an evolving picture, but which will ultimately provide certain data. «And this is a disruptive fact of the contribution – underlines the councilor – It is not just one instrument For discourage The Arrivals on the most critical days, which remains our first objective, but will also allow us to have gods certain numbers, not estimates, of the number of people who will arrive on a certain day. We’ll be there first city in the world to have this possibility, which will allow us to better plan the reception.” Venturini reiterates that this start is experimental, that there will be a need to calibrate the system, he already apologizes for any inconvenience, but does not give up launching a jab at those (oppositions, but also many citizen associations) protesting against a measure branded as useless and unfair. «We have this opportunity to make a system that has never been tested before work, why protest before testing it? In many years nothing has been done against theovertourism. This administration is trying.”
COLORED TOTEMS
Test, certainly, long awaited. Experienced, net of protests, especially still with so much confusion. Yesterday was the eve of preparations. In the morning, under the heavy drizzle, workers and technicians were at work to complete the preparation of the station square in Santa Lucia, the true hub of “paid” Venice. Ready on gazebo-ticket office, with machines for printing exemptions and cash desks where you can pay for tickets. At the foot of the steps, six large totems of three different colors are positioned to channel different visitors: orange for tourists; greenery for residents, workers and students; blue for those who just need to pass through, without the need for a ticket. Also ready for use is a nice pile of tendiflexes, the path marking columns. «But there will be no blocks – confirms the director of Vela, Fabrizio D’Oria – Next to the totems, to direct visitors, there will be steward. Then, based on the flows, we will evaluate whether to use the tendiflexes to line up the visitors. But without blocks.” Other information and steward totems also in the mainland terminals and especially in Piazzale Roma. Here, however, no gaps or queues. «The real entrance for the contribution is in Santa Lucia – reiterates D’Oria -. Around Piazzale Roma we will only have stewards to control passage on the bridges.”
CHECKS AND FINES
A complex organisation, which will have to be run in. Yesterday there were groups of stewards still in training, under the guidance of the staff of Actv And Sail. From today they will have to sort traffic, inform, control and, if necessary, fine. Tasks, in reality, well divided. The majority, around seventy, in white bibs, will only have informational tasks. Another fifty, in yellow bibs, will also be able to check the QR code. Finally, about thirty, with orange bibs, those who will also be able to fine. Fines of 50 to 300 euros are foreseen. But in these first days the order of service is not to be too rigid. We’ll see how it goes.
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