Venetians 'suffocated' by mass tourism as population reaches record low

Residents in Venice's historic centre have expressed concern they will become like "relics in an open museum" as the population drops to a record low.

The main island's population has declined since 1950 for several reasons but the largest of which has been mass tourism. Every year thousands of visitors have flooded into the city centre, shouldering out the long-time residents.

According to Venessia.com, a group that has advocated for the preservation of Venice's heritage for several years, the population will dip below 50,000 by Friday.

The organisation's leader Matteo Secchi said they used data from the civil registry to predict the drop.

"We have been warning about this for years … we don't want to give up, but no administration has managed to reverse the trend," he told the Guardian.

The residents who remain feel "suffocated" by the single-minded focus on tourism, Secchi said, which has turned the city into "a cash machine" that is difficult to live in.

"Tourism is a double-edged sword because you take money but at the same time you expel all the activities and space for [the residents]," Secchi said.

"There are those who are not from here but own a home, rent it out and then spend the money elsewhere."

The result, according to Secchi, is higher living costs, a lack of affordable housing and essential businesses being replaced by tourist souvenir shops.

In January, Venice authorities launched a programme designed to attract young and remote workers to the historic centre.

Inspired by similar programmes around Europe and the US, "Venywhere" attempted to sell the destination to boost the population but seems to have had minimal impact.

The programme is good, Secchi said but avoided addressing the core issues that result from over-tourism.

"We need an epochal change and for the council to bring in significant measures, such as offering financial incentives to property owners who, say, only rent to Venetians," said Secchi.

"The danger is that we are becoming extinct, soon we will be like relics in an open museum."

Venice council appear unfazed by the population decline and said the number does not reflect workers and foreign students who commute into the city or part-time residents.

Additionally, the city has launched new limits and charges for visitors in the last two years.

In July 2021, the city finally banned large vessels weighing more than 25,000 tonnes from entering Venice's historic centre via the Giudecca canal in July 2021.

A year later, in 2022, the city announced a new fee for day-trippers.

From January 16, 2023, visitors who do not to stay overnight in the city must sign up online for the day they plan to come and pay €3 to €10 ($5 to $16.80).