Signs such as "Don't sit down", "Respect for Venice" or "Priority for Venetians" are from times long past. Times when Venice was still discussing restrictions on tourists. In the scolded about mass tourism, the many people who clog the small streets and have their picnic on the Rialto Bridge. About the cruise ships that nobody really wants and yet need so many.
In the meantime you can hear the clatter of your own shoes in the alleys or the sloshing of the waves in the canals louder than the hustle and bustle of tourist crowds. Venice has been in crisis since the Corona was sealed off. Venetians or Italians from the region suddenly discover the city for themselves and enjoy an almost magical atmosphere – but there is no money for hoteliers, restaurant owners, tourist guides and the community. The economic damage can hardly be quantified.
"The situation in Venice, Rome or Florence has reached an unbearable level"
"Today we are facing a city that is really empty and zero at one point," says tourist guide Elena Degan. The single mother, like so many others, lives from tourists and has had no income since March. At the same time, the masses dislike her. "The situation in Venice, Rome or Florence has reached an unbearable level." She lives in the center of Venice. Wherever a craftsman closes, a bed and breakfast or a hotel is created, she says.
The UNESCO World Heritage City has only 50,000 inhabitants. Most people move to mainland Mestre. In return, tourism has risen continuously in recent years, according to the region around 13 million overnight stays last year. Therefore, the city actually wanted to charge a controversial "entry tax" from July 1st. Then came Covid-19. The tax was postponed to next year. And the politicians suddenly beg for tourists.
EU citizens will soon be able to travel to Italy again
"We are open again," announced Mayor Luigi Brugnaro. A "calming message" to the world is now necessary: Venice is safe. Now the borders should open again. Only then can international tourism, which is particularly important for Venice, begin again. After all, most of the visitors come from the USA, China, Great Britain and Germany. As of Wednesday, EU citizens can travel to Italy again.
The regional president of Veneto, Luca Zaia, speaks of a "covid-free" region. That is not entirely true. Veneto was one of the first two sources of fire in Italy. But compared to neighboring Lombardy, the region got the situation under control with many tests and has now reported around 2,000 positive cases.
Flood caused great damage
Even before Corona, Venice had to experience what it means to rely solely on tourists and who suddenly stay away: in November, a flood caused great damage, and the pictures of a city flooded for days scared away the visitors.
Cities that mainly live from foreign tourism, such as Venice and Florence, would now suffer greater losses than cities that also lived from visits to Italy, according to a study by the Italian tourist office Enit. Tourism would not fully recover there by 2023.
Mayor Brugnaro now promises class instead of mass. So a "new and intelligent tourism". But exactly what he wants to do is unclear.
"Cruise tourism is the maximum of superficial tourism"
"We are currently experiencing tourism as close as it was 50 years ago," says environmental scientist Giovanni Cecconi from the University of Ca 'Foscari in Venice. "It is not enough just to open it again and continue as before." Not only the people from the area would come back to Venice. Fish and birds have returned to the lagoon because they are no longer put off by the engine noise of the many ships. Without motor traffic on the waters, the water quality increases.
Nor are any cruise ships currently docking in Venice. Cecconi is of the opinion that the time when the cruise tourism is idle must be used to think about a model for the future and to move the port out of Venice. "Cruise tourism is the maximum of superficial tourism." For years there has been contention that the cruisers are destroying the city's environment and substance.
The No Grandi Navi campaign alliance does not just want an end to the cruise ships in the entire lagoon. The organization now has a list of demands for the future: honest catering for residents and tourists alike, artisans and artists settling in the historic center, affordable rents for locals, and a limit on vacation rentals.
Venice is now at a crossroads: back to mass tourism that is unbearable for residents and visitors alike? Or does the city really have the courage to start a new, more sustainable future?