The city of Venice wants to control hotel expansion within its city centre, threatened by the havoc of mass tourism. Barcelona had already implemented equivalent measures back a few months ago.Ê
Last week, Venice’s city council announced new measures aimed at addressing difficulties coming from mass tourism: they will prevent existing buildings from being converted to tourist accomodation, as well as existing ones’ expansion if they are already settled in the city.
However, the regulation would just cover the city centre, which means that hospitality development projects could still be set up in Venice’s suburban districts and islands.
In addition, yet no regulation is aimed at private rentals – Barcelona had conversely taken measures directly targeting AirBnB and HomeAway.
Tourism in Venice is the city’s main industry and its main employment pool: millions of tourists pay a visit to The Floating City each year. However, numerous voices raised against tourists’ disrespectful behavior, overcrowded areas and havoc on Venetian heritage due to mass tourism. UNESCO even considers adding it to its endangered cities’ list.
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