A city weighed down by tourists

Venice has paid a price for its popularity, explains Dan Peltier in Skift. Its residents have “fled the city en masse as too much tourism has taken its toll on infrastructure and daily life.” But the city finally thinks it has a winning strategy to bring it back from the breaking point -- “tell tourists to live by the golden rule.” In short, he writes, “treat the city like you would want visitors to treat yours.” The city’s government and tourism board, Venezia Unica, now tells tourists how to behave in its “EnjoyRespectVenezia” campaign by “reinforcing rules and regulations that have been in place for years and telling tourists that they’ll potentially face hefty fines if they don’t follow them.” Among those rules:  

Sitting on the ground in iconic St. Mark’s Square or below the Procuratie Nuove is banned under city regulations. It’s also forbidden to “hinder circulation of traffic on bridges and alleys.”   Cycling in the city centre and swimming in the city’s canals are forbidden and swimming, littering, wearing swimwear, giving or scattering food, cycling and camping are banned activities in Venice.