Ticket To Ride
Kaitlin Dryburgh
What is currently taking place in Venice is a sad sight. Money before respect and consumerism before conservation. The city is set to resemble a theme-park, but the problem is no-one gets to live in Disneyland. Over in Scotland we should heed their warning.
The city of water is awash with breath-taking beauty and architectural marvelling. It was only fitting that this medieval city was designated a world heritage site by UNESCO in 1987. Since then it has gone on to become one of the most visited cities in the world, a real bucket list location. In the warmer months it is hit with a deluge of visitors, crammed on the bridges, paying extortionate amounts for gondola rides, and flooding the most historic parts of the city to the point that the locals can barely move.
This sinking city is suffering from over-tourism. The 118 islands that make up this gothic relic are having to withstand 30 million visitors every year. This is unsustainable, to say the least. Italy is a country that boasts tourism as one of its biggest earners, but the people of Venice are currently being pushed to the limit and falling out of love with its visitors. In the high season the city endures 120,000 people visiting a day. This significantly out-weighs the 55,000 (and decreasing) permanent residents.
Unfortunately, it’s a common story in many major cities which have become popular tourist spots, the rise of Airbnbs and holiday lets are limiting the amount of affordable housing for residents. Venice is a place with a rich culture and customs of its own, even in comparison to the rest of Italy. It’s a city with its own indigenous language but the likelihood of this culture still standing in 50 years or so will keep diminishing if there is no protection for its residents.
Perhaps a problem which is more unique to the city is the increase of the day-tripper. Hotel sales have dropped significantly in the last decade as many look to visit the city in an insufficient 6 hours or so. Or perhaps they look to travel in and look for accommodation out-with the city (something that can be done with a cracking public transport system with reasonable prices). This has all led to Venice becoming a tourist trap of convenience, catering to the visitor with fleeting time, a captive audience that pushes prices up and residents out. It’s a place for a quick photo with the rich history but also doesn’t promote a serious consideration and appreciation of the surroundings. It’s starting to present as a place that can be enjoyed in a day- like a theme park.
So how has government decided to tackle their over-tourism? They’ve applied a €5 entry fee- like a theme park. Mind you a theme park would cost a lot more for a day ticket. A knee jerk reaction from government in the wake of UNESCO threatening to put the city on a red list and a pitiful solution to the over-tourism, this €5 charge to enter the city is bad in theory and worse in practice. It will only be operating in high season, only be in place in some entry points and is so low it will barely cover its own administration costs in the first year. So if you were thinking the money raised could be put towards anything worthwhile, think again. However, the problem of over-tourism still remains, and there is no limit on the amount of tickets which can be purchased.
Unfortunately, the city also finds itself in a catch 22. The city is extremely vulnerable, it’s sinking and as of right now that is an inevitability. There are ways to slow down this sad process, but there aren’t enough residents to pay for the costs. Since the 1950s approximately 120,000 residents have left or been pushed out. So to cover the costs they’ll need to turn to the people exasperating the problem, tourists. However, this would pose less of a problem if the city protected residents and promoted policies that allowed them to continue putting down roots there.
On the day the fee was launched, protesters gathered who rightly felt their home was no more protected than the day before. They held up signs saying ”Venice-land” and “no to tickets, yes to houses and services for all”. As we all know a €5 entry-fee will not do anything to prevent tourists visiting and or help residents in affording their homes. An online petition against the charge which has garnered 700 signatures including those of prominent writers and historians claimed, “Paying to enter Venice seals the cultural decline, not only of Venice, but of Europe: Venice is no longer considered a city, but a machine to make money”.
It isn’t as if others haven’t offered up better solutions. Venice’s Ca’ Foscari University proposes that the numbers being allowed into the city should be a maximum of 50,000 a day, but more importantly the approach to tourists should be altered. They shouldn’t be seen as a group to extort money from and send on their merry way, but supporters, part of a global club which contributes to conservation efforts, paying for protective ecological and engineering bills. This would be financed from a proper charge, for both day-trippers and overnight visitors, increasing to €25 a day would be a sufficient start, sufficient to raise funds. It would help to raise the cultural expectations of visitors and step away from the theme park path they’re currently going down.
Other locations around the world are leading the way with limits on visitors such as the Galapagos Islands and the Acropolis. Cities like Amsterdam are banning touring groups and trying to re-position themselves as a place to appreciate the surroundings and respect the residents.
Scotland and its cities like Edinburgh don’t exactly have the same numbers visiting as does Venice, nor do they share the same issue as being built on water but we should still be taking note. Edinburgh has experienced an increase in tourism and the effects are beginning to show, especially with housing, even though there are now more restrictions on holiday lets. Beauty spots in the highlands and islands are often finding it hard to cope with the fluctuation of tourists in the summer. The proposed visitor levy for local authorities in Scotland should be taken seriously, and future-proofed so it's robust enough to deal with the proposed rising number of tourists in the coming decades. The proposed levy will be set by individual councils as a percentage of their accommodation costs. The Government have stipulated that funds should then be reinvested in the local area to improve facilities, services and used by visitors.
Scotland shouldn't be on the backfoot, we need to understand that although promoting tourism is beneficial it shouldn't overshadow the importance of our culture and residents. Nor should we be looking to replicate the theme-park experience of convenience and squeezing as much out of visitors as possible without presenting a respectful and robust picture of our home. The Loch Ness monster, bright tartan and shortbread will only get us so far. Leave the turnstiles for Disneyland.