Venice starts charging an entrance fee for tourists
Listen to the story (American accent)
Venice is a famous Italian city with canals. Tourists who visit the city for one day now have to pay an entrance fee. This is the first city in the world to do that.
The fee is €5 (about $5.37) per person and started on April 25.
Mayor Luigi Brugnaro introduced this fee to protect Venice’s UNESCO World Heritage site from too many tourists. He wants to make life better for the people who live in Venice.
But, some residents don’t like this plan. They think Venice will feel like a “theme park.”
Since the 1950s, Venice’s population has decreased by 120,000 people. Some people move away from Venice because of too many tourists.
The fee will only be used on the busiest days of the year. Only tourists visiting the historic center for one day have to pay it. Residents, students, children under 14, and overnight tourists do not have to pay the fee.
On the first day, 5,500 tickets were sold. The city earned €27,500 (about $29,508). The mayor says if the system works well, he will lower taxes.
Vocabulary16 words
- Famous
- Many people know it; Well-known or admired by many people
- Canal
- A waterway, like a river, made by people
- Tourist
- Someone who visits a place for fun and to learn about it
- Entrance fee
- Money you pay to go into a place
- Mayor
- the leader or person in charge of a city
- Introduce
- to start using for the first time; launch
- Protect
- To keep something safe;
- Resident
- a person who has permission to live somewhere for a long time
- Plan
- A detailed idea or strategy to reach a goal; a method, idea or process to achieve a goal;
- Theme park
- A place built for fun, with rides and shows, like Disneyland
- Population
- all the people living in a particular country, area, or place
- Decrease
- to go down; to become less; become smaller
- Historic
- Important or significant and will be remembered for a long time
- Overnight
- for one night; staying or sleeping somewhere for one night or more
- Earn
- to get something (usually money) because you worked, sold something, or helped someone; to receive
- Tax
- money that a government requires people or businesses to pay
Fill-in-the-blank listening
Play the audio again and fill in the missing words as you listen.
Venice is a _____ Italian city with canals. Tourists who _____ the city for one day now have to pay an entrance _____. This is the first city in the world to do that.
The fee is €_____ (about $5.37) per person and started on April _____.
Mayor Luigi Brugnaro introduced this fee to _____ Venice’s UNESCO World Heritage site from too many tourists. He wants to _____ life better for the people who live in Venice.
But, some residents don’t like this _____. They think Venice will feel like a “theme _____.”
Since the 1950s, Venice’s population has _____ by 120,000 people. Some people move away from Venice because of too _____ tourists.
The fee will only be used on the _____ days of the year. Only tourists visiting the historic center for one day _____ to pay it. Residents, students, children under 14, and overnight tourists do _____ have to pay the fee.
On the first day, _____ tickets were sold. The city earned €27,500 (about $29,508). The mayor _____ if the system works well, he will lower _____.
Discussion questions
- What do you think about Venice introducing an entrance fee for tourists?
- Do you think that the entrance fee makes Venice feel like a theme park?
- Should other cities with too many tourists have entrance fees, too?
- Are there any other ways to solve the problem of too many tourists in a city?
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