Venice is a Real City
In Venice, I saw buildings with banners that said, "Venezia e una vera citta," or Venice is a real (true) city, not merely a Renaissance theme park for tourists. A lot of places in Europe are facing the same issue. Dubrovnik in Croatia and cities in Spain have had protests about the number of tourists flooding their cities, especially visitors from large cruise ships. In the 1980s when Great Britain was facing tough economic times after their manufacturing base declined but before their financial sector rose, people talked about marketing “theme park Britain”, based on the idea that the leading product Britain had to sell was its history and culture for tourists. Venice does not want to be a theme park.
Venice is a Real City
In Venice, I saw buildings with banners that said, "Venezia e una vera citta," or Venice is a real (true) city, not merely a Renaissance theme park for tourists. A lot of places in Europe are facing the same issue. Dubrovnik in Croatia and cities in Spain have had protests about the number of tourists flooding their cities, especially visitors from large cruise ships. In the 1980s when Great Britain was facing tough economic times after their manufacturing base declined but before their financial sector rose, people talked about marketing “theme park Britain”, based on the idea that the leading product Britain had to sell was its history and culture for tourists. Venice does not want to be a theme park.