Tourists visiting Venice may soon have to book a hotel in advance or stump up an entry fee to cross from the mainland into the lagoon city, the city's transport chief said on Thursday.
In an effort to control the daily invasion of tourists into the city, buses and cars would be stopped shortly before the Ponte della Liberta' bridge connecting Venice to the rest of Italy.
Holiday-makers without a hotel reservation would then have to pay for a so-called Ecopass to continue their journey across the water.
Presenting the plan in regional daily newspaper Il Gazzettino, city transport head Pietro Mingardi said the tariff would vary depending on the season, although details are still under discussion.
Around 20 million tourists visit Italy's most romantic city each year (the equivalent of almost 55,000 a day), bringing in cash but also stretching its infrastructure and resources to the limit.
Last year in a bid to keep the city looking smart despite the daily invasion of tourists, the council deployed groups of female 'sentinels' to stop people dropping litter or picnicking near popular sites.
Venice was among strong supporters of a 2006 government plan to introduce a country-wide tourist tax that would have allowed towns and cities to charge foreign and domestic visitors up to five euros per day with the fee added on to their hotel bill.
The aim of the levy was to boost local government funds for tourist services and facilities and help keep cities that are tourist magnets clean and well maintained.
But despite backing from Venice, Rome and Florence, the government ditched the idea after smaller centres and tourist businesses protested that it would damage tourism and put foreigners off visiting Italy.
Venice city council had wanted to use the extra cash for street cleaning, restoration work and home building in the city.
Venice has not ruled out introducing a more general Ecopass system similar to the one launched in Milan in January this year as part of a wider drive to improve the city's air pollution and transport.
In Milan the tax targets all motorists entering the city centre during the day, who have to purchase either a day ticket or a multi-day pass in advance or up to 24 hours afterwards.
The pass costs up to 10 euros a day according to how much the vehicles pollute, and anyone caught driving into the central area without paying is automatically sent a 70-euro fine.
The congestion charge immediately proved successful, with the number of vehicles using the city centre falling by 23% in the first two weeks of its introduction.
