Most craftsmen and artists in Venice stated that mass tourism harms the city as well as their businesses. A survey conducted by Confartigianato among its own associates, revealed that hit-and-run tourism does not bring any income according to them, but it lowers the quality of the offer. Many locals require limiting the number of tourists in Venice.
The survey, whose results were presented last week, focused among other things on the tourism pressures and the revenue the visitors bring to local businessmen. Over the last 6 months, 306 companies – associated with Venice Confartigianato – have taken part in the project. Only the owners of businesses located in the lagoon city center and the islands had been interviewed.
The survey asked the craftsmen whether they believed that the tourism pressure in Venice was excessive. 77% of the interviewed respondents agreed. The months when the number of tourists in Venice is the biggest is July (according to 26% respondents), June (18%) and August (9%).
Moreover, more than 69% of the craftsmen stated that the number of tourists should be reduced. Most of them (63%) also believe that the current tourism arrangements have rather negative effects on their own business activities.
The survey shows, according to Confartigianato, that many of the one-day tourists bring no revenue to the local companies. “We confirm that the trend of mass tourism is inversely proportional to high-quality activities, since the more the city is overcrowded with hit-and-run visitors, the more they support low-quality products. On the other hand, the well-off travelers seem to increasingly avoid the city; the sector is a victim of the tourist overcrowding," said the survey authors.