Venice will limit the size of tourist groups to 25 people in its latest attempt to reduce the impact of crowds in the visitor hotspot.

The measure was originally planned to come into effect from June but was delayed and will now be in force from Thursday 1 August.

Local authorities in the Italian canal city will also ban the use of loudspeakers by tourist guides in measures aimed at “protecting the peace of residents” and ensuring pedestrians can move around more freely.

Venice is struggling with the impacts of “overtourism” – when the number of visitors to an area worsens the experience of being there for locals or other tourists.

There were around 50,000 people living in the historic city centre in 2023 when there were around 4.9 million tourist arrivals, according to the data gathering website Statista.

There will be fines ranging from €25 to €500 euros (£21 to £421) for those who do not comply with the new measures.

The restrictions cover the city centre as well as the islands of Murano, Burano and Torcello.

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There are a number of exemptions to the rules on tourist parties.

Children up to two years of age are not included in the count and the limitation is waived for visiting students or those on an educational trip.

In April, Venice became the first city in the world to introduce a payment system for visitors in an experiment aimed
at dissuading daytrippers from arriving during peak periods.

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The pilot scheme, which has been watched closely by other European tourist hotspots, ran for 29 days and ended this month, opening the way for a period of consultation to decide how to proceed with the project in future.

The city has indicated it is planning to double the tax, saying the €5 (£4.20) charge was paid 485,062 times during the pilot scheme, generating around €2.4m (£2m).

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Venice isn’t the only European city where locals are struggling with the impact of tourist numbers.

Earlier this month, Barcelona’s mayor said the city would raise the tourist tax for cruise passengers visiting the city for less than 12 hours.

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It came after protesters in the Spanish city sprayed tourists with water guns as part of demonstrations over the number of visitors.

Anti-tourism activists have also staged protests in other popular holiday destinations across Spain in recent weeks, including Palma, Malaga and the Canary Islands, saying visitors drive up housing costs and lead to residents being unable to afford to live in city centres.

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