FLASH
Shkruar nga Pamfleti
These people arrive in the morning by bus from the coast and leave in the afternoon, without spending a single euro...
Thousands and thousands of tourists, every day, in one of the most famous destinations in the world, Venice. But not everyone is happy, starting with the merchants in the historic center, since in Venice, most visitors fill the streets but don't even enter the shops. In short, according to the jeweler Setrak Tokatzian, president of the Piazza San Marco Association, "it's like living in a state of emergency. An unprecedented phenomenon: overcrowding that does not bring economic benefits to the city."
This is what Tokatzian told Corriere Veneto, sparking a wave of criticism from some followers. The jeweler particularly questions "groups that wander aimlessly, led by tour operators, ride gondolas, take water taxis, but don't stop at any shops."
According to the shopkeeper, you used to see tourists with designer bags coming out of shops in Piazza San Marco. Today, it's rare. Not to mention entire families sharing bread or drinks and standing in line at fountains for water because they can't even afford that anymore.
" I wonder where the good people are, those who are interested in the city, those who really bring something to the city? These people arrive in the morning by bus from the coast and leave in the afternoon, without spending a single euro," declared Setrak Tokatzian.
The president of the Piazza San Marco Association even has his own recipe for overcoming the crisis.
" We need to put a limit on the large daily tourist flows. I would ask these people for 100 euros each. There are waves of people wearing white bracelets arriving from the campsites. These people don't even know what culture is, and it's obvious because they arrive without even knowing where they are, and they leave without buying anything ," he added.
Many internet users lashed out at him, saying that prices have become unaffordable and excessively high beyond normal, which is causing them to avoid local businesses.
"But where is it written that a tourist visiting a city like Venice should be forced to spend money in a restaurant or souvenir shop where every item costs at least three times more than elsewhere?" wrote one tourist.
"Lower the prices. Last week I paid 1 euro for a minute of bathroom break and three coffees and two ice creams for 22 euros. What are we talking about? I also paid 18 euros in daily tax per person. You're expecting idiots, not tourists. The price of 18 euros for a vaporetto is crazy. Then you complain? Who knows! " commented another tourist.
Angelo Bonelli, an AVS deputy, said that the statements of the president of the Piazza San Marco Association, according to which 'non-spending' tourists should be charged 100 euros to enter the city, represent another deviation from those who think that art and beauty can only be admired by the rich and not by workers.
"We face a dangerous vision. A vision that imagines Venice as an exclusive space, reserved for those with money, while workers, families and students are denied the right to experience, even for just a day, the beauty of one of the most extraordinary cities in the world."
A paradox where Venice can be 'bought' for 50 million euros by Jeff Bezos, who organizes weddings worthy of magazines with hundreds of private jets, but cannot be visited by a worker or a mother with her children unless they are willing to pay a fee of 100 euros. Simply unacceptable: it cannot become a Disneyland for a few people and a desert for those who live there" , concluded Bonelli.
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