LOCALS DUB VENICE 'VENICELAND' AS OVERTOURISM TURNS ICONIC CITY INTO 'AMUSEMENT PARK'

Residents of Venice are fuming as mass tourism pushes the city to the edge, leaving streets in a "disgusting" state.

The iconic destination, famed for its picturesque squares, palaces, and canals, attracts an estimated 30million visitors annually.

This influx has led to significant problems, prompting authorities to introduce a €5 (£4.20) tax on day-trippers this summer. But locals are sceptical about its effectiveness in tackling the issues caused by tourists who stay for more than one day.

Frustrated Italians have been airing their grievances on Reddit, with one recent post criticising the new tax: "How is the €5 tax supposed to help against tourist overcrowding in Venice?: 'Oh no, I spent hundreds of euros on travel and hotels to get there, but €5 is too much! I'm going back to Indonesia!'"

In a biting response, one user quipped that Venice has become more of a "museum" than a living city, while another sarcastically remarked: "It's needed because Venice is a real city, it's not an attraction park where you pay a ticket to enter... Ah no wait."

Some have defended the tax as a step in the right direction, but still seem unhappy about the state of the city, with another comment reading: "The main reason for this tax is to try to alleviate overcrowding in the city on days when the number of visitors reaches such high peaks that they become unsustainable both for the city and for the (few) remaining inhabitants."

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A scathing post from last year highlighted the issue more intensely, with a Milanese resident who visited Venice for an exhibition raging about the sheer number of shops peddling "bulls**t" souvenirs. The post declared: "There are no shops selling things that are actually needed by the locals. They have become so widespread that near the 'Londra Palace', one of the most luxurious hotels in Venice, there is a tourist shop next door."

Venetians didn't hold back their outrage either. One local responded by saying his historic city had turned into an "amusement park", overrun with "junk shops". He dubbed it "Veniceland".

Another comment echoed the sentiment: "Yes, the residents are virtually extinct. Mass tourism has killed the city." A third resident described the city as now "unlivable" due to the "crazy prices", while others complained about the "disgusting" state of the streets.

Just last week, Venice authorities suggested they might double the day-tripper tax following a successful summer pilot. Mayor Luigi Brugnaro stood by the controversial tax following suggestions it hadn't done enough.

He said: "We listened to citizens, to associations, to thousands of people, but in the end, there were no alternative solutions to ours.

"We thought to take this road of the controls, which were light enough, not invasive."

2024-07-27T09:46:43Z dg43tfdfdgfd