The fragile lagoon city of Venice launches a pilot program Thursday to charge day-trippers a 5-euro entry fee that authorities hope will discourage visitors from arriving on peak days and make the city more livable for its dwindling residents. Starting at 8:30 a.m., arriving visitors who are not sleeping in Venice will have to show a QR code attesting that they have paid the tax. Some 200 stewards will be on hand to politely walk anyone unaware of the fee through the process of downloading a QR code at points of arrival. Once past designated entry ports, officials will carry out random checks for compliance.
