Venice, the city of lakes and a World Heritage site is facing a crisis of overcrowding which is taking a toll on its lagoons and angering the local people. Popular as the one of the most romantic and beautiful destinations in the world, it does not come as a surprise that Venice attracts hundreds of tourists every year.
The enormous number of visitors are a threat to the Venetian lagoons and also the peace and order in the area. In the wake of this, the Venice government is considering a fray of options to tackle the issue.
The Venetian administration has devised a plan to keep a tab on the number of visitors entering the city in order to keep overcrowding in check. They might even set a limit on the number of visitors since people in the city are outraged by the daily influx of around 70,000 tourists- many of whom are daily trippers and cruise shippers.
The United Nations, in July 2017, had warned that Venice might be turned into an endangered World Heritage Site due to the entry of large cruise ships daily emphasising on the need to ban this practice. Consequentially, several protesters used gondolas and small boats to block the way of cruise ships passing through a Venetian lagoon in September. In August, they had protested with the help of posters trying to keep the tourists away.
The government hence is brainstorming to find a way to reduce overcrowding, while keeping Venice’s reputation as a tourist spot intact. Some of these new regulations will come into play very soon. One such measure is having people-control booths established in high-traffic areas, including the Ponte degli Scalzi and the Ponte di Calatrava.
