Is tourism killing Venice? - BBC News

There are more tourists and fewer residents in the historic city of Venice.
The city known as the “Queen of the Adriatic” has lost more than half its population in the past 50 years.
The Venetians who remain are trying to find ways to reclaim their city.
Video journalist: Bruno Boelpaep

[cegb]

it’s a double edged sword, tourism brings in money, but mass tourism ruins the charm of a place..

[psiFellow]

The big ships bring hardly any money because the tourists there sleep and eat on the ship. While the ships also literally destroy the foundations on the houses of Venice.

[ginniem]

The problem is that tourism brings money only to CERTAIN people within Venice. People outside Venice seem to mistakenly think that Venetians should be thankful for the money influx entailed by tourists, but this money is benefiting only some people. The locals here have to pay larger taxes and rent to continue their lives. Usually, when we go to tourist attractions, even mundane items like bottled water are expensive. The locals in Venice have to put up with higher cost of living wrought by tourists, while they themselves don't gain so much financial benefit if they don't work in the tourist industry.

[aliciawu]

My hometown is also a tourist attraction, I can understand the feeling of Venetian. We just miss the quiet old days.

[almerindaromeira]

Put a cap on how much tourists are allowed per year and then sell the permits or licenses. Naturally the market will inflate the permit's value and raise probably the same amount of money but with way less tourists.

[AgentAO]

Those large cruise ships should not be allowed there!

[puirYorick]

Very sad. Tourism run rampant indeed. Paris and London City are similar but they have the metropolis for most natives to live. Poor Venice is actually being swamped by the big ships too.

[Timbo]

It's similar in Amsterdam. It's incredibly expensive to live there due to properties being bought just to be rented out for tourists. It's always crowded as all hell, to the point of there being instances of people calling the police because a shopping street was so filled with people that they couldn't exit the shop anymore (actually happened!). Excessive tourism is cancerous, it destroys otherwise beautiful venues. If I live in Venice I'd rather be poor as dirt and living in that 1965 portrayal of Venice than rich and living in that touristic mess. It just has no substance anymore. I will never go to Venice out of respect for the people living there

[BennyB]

Clearly this city is beautiful.
However when I personally went to this city I was blown away in disbelief. The massive crowds of pushy people and their selfie sticks all clambering to get a quick ride on a gondola. Not what I was expecting. Nobody is ever in the moment anymore. I do feel for the actual people of this city that have to deal with the craziness! I am sure in it’s hay day this had a much different vibe.

[jameswhiteley]

Wasn't Venice always a busy city for merchants and foreign people?

[kazakhdoge]

Build the wall! Make tourists pay for it! Make Venice Great Again! #MVGA

[nickfreeman]

I think cruise ships should be stopped from using the Lagoon. Then subsiquently a cap on how many can visit at once due to smaller vessells causing traffic on the lagoon itself? The place needs to be cheaper for starters so it's citizens can still live there. Maybe if the people at the top distributed thier huge Tourism wealth fairly it may still leave room for people to actually live their idea of a normal life.

[DisneyJF]

Venetians must be Happy now that Corona Virus has saved their city from these pesky tourists.

[JoeMama-llbn]

I’m going to Venice soon, and this makes me feel bad for the place. I’m going to try to be as respectful and responsible as I can

[leoncampa]

I visited Venice in 2002, when it was still ok.

I went back in 2017 and wanted to puke in disbelief. Granted, I was part of the problem. I decided to never go back there again.

If I can be honest, the Asian tourists are by far the worst. They travel in groups of 40-50 people with guides waiving their 5 ft flags. Many of them are not even certified guides, and they don’t pay taxes on the money they earn there.

[theshadoe]

I guess their problem has been solved for now

[oxyo]

when I went to Venice this year I saw some graffiti saying something like "f*** tourists*

[larastale]

I visited venice last december and i love venice. no other place like it in the world today. so unfortunate that venice becomes overcrowded....wish the problem could be solved soon.

[erikahammerramalho]

"When does Venice close?" that says it all about the perception of Venice from tourists. Wow... 🙄 It's not a museum it's a real city.

[koninginvictoria]

Mass-tourism and greed destroys everywhere nice. The same is happening to Amsterdam. It's overwhelming here. Please travel to other places instead.