Originally Posted by
SanDiego1K
Do you think those of us who stay in a hotel will have priority in being able to enter the city?
Your first link to the pedestrian congestion on the bridge was horrifying.
They will only have "red days" when the crowds get to certain size. I am sure that this will not have that big an effect, except during the summer. Venice is best avoided in the summer anyway. They're talking about red days being when there are over 100,000 visitors or so. That's more than the typical day. There is no way that they are going to not welcome someone staying in a hotel. What they are really hoping to do is cut down on the massive crowds of what they call, "morde e fugge," or "bite and run." I've heard that day-trippers don't spend enough in the city to even pay for the pick up of the trash they leave behind. Everything has to come and go by boat, including the trash, so it's expensive. They come, take a bite out of the city, and leave. Venice will always be dependent on welcoming tourists, and anyone coming there to visit and stay in a hotel like a regular tourist will be welcome always.
It is also directed at cruise ships. A cruise ship going by Venice emits the air pollution of about 15,000 cars, and so many come to Venice since the boom in cruise ships. Venice used to have the cleanest air in Italy because there are no cars or wood burning stoves. The most polluted cities were always Turin, Milan, Rome, Florence, and Bologna. Now, Venice is sometimes ranked as having the second worst air in Italy, mainly due to cruise ships. In fact, Venice is in the process of switching to electric vaporetti because the air is so polluted, and already deployed their first one.
It's not certain how much of this will be enacted. Some, maybe most, but not all. Enacting a ban on visitors will be the hardest one to do. Plus, they are really targeting Piazza San Marco. For some reason, everybody goes there, and walks to the Rialto Bridge, or vice versa. Often, if you go 2-3 blocks away, the streets can be empty, even during the summer.
I was there during Carnevale this year, one of the busiest times of the year.
1. Street near Piazza San Marco
2. Kids playing on a trampoline in a regular neighborhood a few blocks away.
3. Street where I rented an apartment.
4. Campo Santa Maria Formosa, a five minute walk from San Marco.
The crowds shouldn't worry anyone, just stay out of the tourist zone.