The city of Venice will eventually not be listed as a World Heritage Site in Danger, the World Heritage Committee meeting in Riyadh decided on Thursday, contrary to the recommendations of UNESCO experts.
• Read also: Overtourism: Venice will test a tax targeting day tourists
“The World Heritage Committee – the governing body of the World Heritage Convention made up of 21 Member States representing the 195 States Parties to the Convention – today took the decision not to inscribe the city of Venice and its lagoon on the World Heritage List. Heritage is in danger,” noted UNESCO, whose headquarters are In Paris, in a press release.
“This decision takes into account the progress made by UNESCO in recent days, in particular the establishment of a system to manage visitor flows from 2024,” a diplomat told AFP.
Although its case was under discussion by UNESCO, the city of Venice decided on Tuesday, very timely, to impose on a trial basis from 2024 a tax of five euros to be paid. Dogs. The main aim of this measure is to deter day visitors who contribute to crowding a city famous around the world for its works of art, bridges and canals.
In 2024, this online-only tax will include a maximum period of thirty days during which the number of tourists is traditionally higher.
As soon as UNESCO announced that Venice had escaped the notorious designation, Italian Culture Minister Gennaro Sangiulano was quick to hail Italy’s “victory and common sense.”
However, Venice is not completely out of the woods: “The committee reiterated its concerns about the significant challenges that remain to be faced in order to properly conserve the site, in particular linked to mass tourism, development projects and climate disruption. It believes that further progress must be achieved.” .
The Committee further requested Italy to “invite an advisory mission from the World Heritage Center (…) and submit a report by 1 February 2024, in order to examine the state of conservation of the site again during the forty-sixth session of the Committee in 2024.” Summer 2024.
But at the end of last July, UNESCO recommended that Venice be classified as “in danger,” a jewel threatened by excessive tourism and global warming, due to the “inadequate” measures taken in Italy to combat the deterioration of this site.
Venice has for years postponed taking drastic measures, including establishing mandatory reservations and setting quotas for entry numbers, to stop the flow of millions of tourists to the saturated historic center.
UNESCO experts estimated that “ongoing development (in Venice), the impacts of climate change and mass tourism” threatens “to cause irreversible changes in the property’s Outstanding Universal Value.”
Venice is an island city founded in the 5th century and became a great maritime power in the 10th century, extending over 118 islands. This exceptional site was included in the World Heritage List by UNESCO in 1987.
La Serenissima is one of the most visited cities in the world. At peak attendance, 100,000 tourists sleep there, in addition to tens of thousands of day visitors. Compare that to about 50,000 residents in the city centre, which continues to be depopulated.
