A lot of popular destinations have a love-hate relationship with tourism. Having floods of people come and visit various attractions can work wonders for local economies all over the world, but it can be damaging too, and many destinations have begun cracking down on overtourism.
One strategy to combat overcrowding is imposing fees on tourists for entry to certain cultural attractions. Istanbul’s Hagia Sophia recently introduced a whopping €25 entry fee for tourists, and Seville (Spain’s third-most visited city), is the latest to implement a scheme of that kind.
The Plaza de España, a Neo-Moorish palace-like complex which is surrounded by a moat, is visited by thousands of tourists a day. It’s the shape of a semicircle and is accessible by one of its four bridges, but entry will soon be subject to a fee. For tourists, anyway.
A post by José Luis Sanz, the mayor of Seville, on X said the money will be put towards the conservation and ensuring the safety of the Plaza, according to the Times. However, not everyone is happy about this proposal.
‘Privatising public space cannot be the answer to the care and preservation of Seville’s Plaza de España, a cultural jewel that belongs to everyone,’ said María Jesús Montero, senior deputy prime minister, on X. There was also plenty of criticism from tourists at the site and online.
Residents of Seville have suggested that a city-wide tax would be more appropriate – plenty of countries and cities have implemented these recently, after all.
We don’t yet know when the fee will be put in place, or how much it’ll be, but stay tuned for more updates.
More on tourist charges
Fees at tourist attractions is nothing new, but plenty more sites have begun charging over the last couple of years. There are now entrance fees for Mount Fuji in Tokyo and the Hagia Sophia in Istanbul, and here’s a comprehensive list of all the destinations charging tourists more to visit this year.
Did you see that this European city has been named the best in the world for expats?
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