ATHENS

Venice launched on Thursday a pilot program to charge day-trippers a €5 (around $5.35) fee to enter the old city, state news agency ANSA reported.

A large category of visitors including Venetian citizens, workers, students and guests of the accommodation facilities are exempted to pay the fee, though they still have to register online to visit the Lagoon city.

Over 80,000 people registered to enter the city on the first day of the test regulation, while only 7,000 tourists paid the fee.

The new system, given a go-ahead last September, aims to disincentivize daily tourism in certain periods, in line with the fragility and uniqueness of the world-renowned city.