Tourism

Venice, with its rich historical landscape, attracts thousands of tourists a year.  As a result the city is slowly giving in to a phenomenon known as urban tourism.  Valuable space is being converted to accommodate temporary visitors instead of the permanent residents.  From 1971-1996 the number of restaurants and hotels on the island increased by 144%.  As tourist functions take over more and more space, residents and businesses are forced to move to the mainland causing the population to decline.  As a result of these conversions, the culture is slowly becoming purely tourist.  Tourists also leave garbage and clog transportation routes.  On May 3, 1987 solemnly referred to as Black Monday - 150,000 tourists flooded Venice creating mass chaos.

Crowded cafe - Piazza San Marco (Michelin)

Crowds - Piazza San Marco (Free foto)

Many ideas have been proposed to combat the unwelcome visitors.  An Anti-Venice campaign was launched by the mayor, complete with billboards of swarming pigeons and discarded trash.  A more effective cultural tourism plan has been suggested.  This plan would ration the number of tourists allowed on the island in a certain day, by means of a pass or "Venice card".