Venice’s mayor, Luigi Brugnaro, has announced that the Italian city will try to limit short-term rental options. He said that the city needed to fight not to lose its soul.
Speaking to Italian publication, Quotidiano Nazionale, Brugnaro said that the city centre had suffered from depopulation.
He said: “We don’t want the city and the lagoon to be just places for tourists. We won’t allow it.
“This must also be the city of residents, students and those who want to live there all year round. We will win this challenge.”
Short-term holiday rentals are controversial in many of the world’s top destinations as they can push up prices for local residents.
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Brugnaro said that he wanted to set up a new system where houses could only be let to tourists for up to 120 days.
He said otherwise the owner would have to register it as part of a centralised system of tourist rentals.
The mayor said it was “no longer time for mischief” and said anyone who exceeded the 120 day limit would find the police “at the door”.
Brugnaro has previously expressed anger at tourists’ behaviour in the city and even offered to buy people dinner if they helped identify two people who surfed down the city’s canals.
Venice has struggled to find a balance between tourism and overcrowding and has introduced several rules to combat the problem.
Daytrippers are expected to have to pay a fee to enter the city in the near future under a new system to control crowds.
Cruise ships are already banned from the city’s historic lagoon, although at least one company found a way around the issue by bringing in guests on smaller ships.
Other companies have opted to dock their ships at nearby ports such as Ravenna and then bring guests in via coach.
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In the UK, Cornwall has struggled to cope with a rise in holiday lets and second homes since the pandemic.
Many local residents have found they are no longer able to afford to rent or buy in the area where they grew up.
Tourist bosses at Visit Cornwall have suggested creating a centralised system which would require holiday lets to be registered.
It is thought registration could put some owners off short-term renting due to the rules and restrictions.
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