Please Stay Out!

Buongiorno Venezia reports this morning the unique tourism problems of Venice:

NEWS. During a conference which took place last week at Lake Garda, Mayor Cacciari made some remarkable suggestions about his city. "Please say thatVenice smells, that merchants are expensive; please do adverse publicity. In Venice, we have to thin crowds, not attract them. The tourists who arrive everyyear already number 20,000,000, and we are preparing for the Chinese touristboom, which is a frightening prospect. In China, new tourist agencies have been opened by the dozen, and everyone includes tours to Venice. The municipalitydoesn't get any benefit from this surge, and there are absurd costs for controlling trash and providing transportation. Tourism, beyond certain levels,becomes dangerous." It was a very clear speech, leaving no doubt about the municipality's dilemma.