New Delhi (NVI): Even as pandemic has placed a heavy burden on Venice tourism industry, a new restriction has been placed where Venice’s gondola tours are reducing capacity on their boats because of too many overweight tourists, La Repubblica reported.
The new restriction will see the maximum capacity on the city’s famous gondolas reduced from six passengers to five.
However, social distancing did not prompt this change, but it is the expanding average weight of tourists huddling to the destination.
Andrea Balbi, the president of Venice’s Gondola Association said, “Over the last 10 years or so, tourists weigh more — and rather than having them step on a scale before they get on, we are limiting the number.”
The change applies to Venice’s quintessential slim boats that slither along the small canals. The maximum occupancy in the larger “da parada” gondolas, which serve mostly as taxis across the Grand Canal, has also been reduced, from 14 to 12, he added.
Balbi further said that heavier loads often mean the gondolas take on water, making it harder for gondoliers to navigate canal traffic.
Raoul Roveratto, president of the association of substitute gondoliers told Repubblica daily that, “From some countries, it’s like bombs loading on and when (the boat) is fully loaded, the hull sinks and water enters. Going forward with over half a ton of meat on board is dangerous,” he added.
Meanwhile, Venice currently licensed 433 gondoliers and 180 substitutes, but it has recently cut the number of gondolas in service because of the pandemic and the steep decline in tourists, according to media reports.
Italy’s coronavirus lockdown was so noteworthy that the city’s canal water became visibly clearer, due to the massive reduction in traffic.
Earlier this month, the European Union (EU) agreed to a set of recommendations that will allow travelers from outside the bloc to visit again.
However, the country is temporarily returning to normality and Venice is moving towards welcoming back tourists.
-RJV
