Venice wanted to keep charging an entrance fee for day visitors when a trial period for the charge, the world’s first such scheme to end this weekend.

The city had planned to take into account demand for its new pricing and double the fee from five euros (or $5.4) to up to 10 euros.

This is when the city on Italy’s Adriatic coast is particularly busy, Michele Zuin, the city councillor responsible for finances, told a local newspaper.

The nearly month-long trial put more than 2 million euros ($2.1 million) into the city’s coffers.

On some days, more than 25,000 paying guests were registered.

Ms Zuin, in a story in Il Gazzettino, said that from 2025 onwards, a base rate would apply to day visitors some of the time.

On critical days, however, visitors would need to pay a maximum rate of 10 euros.

The city intended to take its time with an official report after the last two test days this Saturday and Sunday.

First, the collected data will be evaluated.

A five-euro entrance fee was charged between 8:30 a.m. (0630 GMT) and 4:00 p.m. during the trial period.

Visitors could acquire a QR code online and download it to their mobile phones to pay. 

With an estimated 15 million guests per year, Venice was among the most visited cities in the world.

Mass tourism brought a lot of money into the city’s treasury but also caused considerable damage. 

(dpa/NAN)