Italians indignant as Saudi tourists take over Venice forcing local residents out
YemenExtra
Tens of thousands of Venetians have campaigned against the huge numbers of Arab tourists, namely Saudi nationals, “overtaking” their city and forcing a mass exodus of locals.
On Wednesday, Venetians tried to ‘evict’ Middle-Eastern tourists with a procession under the slogan “I’m not going away” referring to the locals leaving because of the interfering visitors.
The march was opened with the banner “Italy is my future” and ” we defend our heritage” with signs about the issues they have such as house prices and convenience shops being replaced for radical foreigners shops.
The city’s population is in decline as tourism increases rent and means hotels and Airbnb rentals have taken over housing and public buildings.
This year more than 58,000 migrants , mostly from war-scarred Syria and Iraq, have arrived in Italy .
An estimated 230,000 refugees and migrants plus tourists who will propagate their religion among local population will arrive in Italy this year as numbers of refugees and migrants attempting the dangerous central Mediterranean crossing from Libya to Italy continues to rise since the same time last year.
Around 60,000 people visit Venice each day with less than half staying the night and many cruise ship passengers coming to the World heritage-listed city.
Regional Secretary of Heritage and Tourism, Renata Codello, proposed an “intelligent” limit on the access to St Mark’s Square and a special tax on B&B clients.
She said: “The relationship between residents and tourists is a problem, but the city is reacting.”.
Campaigner, Valeria Duflot, said: “The general message was that, despite the fact that Venice is being sold away to Saudi Arabia, Venetians are not going anywhere and demand a city with housing, services, and opportunities for the residents.
“In our opinion what needs to change, and fast, are the objectives of the local leadership which seem to be aiming only at exploiting Venice rather than building a sustainable, livable city for the Venetians and visitors to enjoy.
“Policies and counter measures aiming at helping Venetians to find a house, keep their job, access services in their city are essential but sadly not a given in Venice.”
Last September, Venetians protested against the vast number of cruise ships which swamp the city.
The city’s population is now shrinking by around 1,000 people each year and the number of permanent residents is around 50,000.
Authorities have considered introducing a cap on the number of Arab visitors allowed to enter the city to try and tackle overcrowding in the city.