More or less likely to visit this town?

A similar controversy arose in the UK some years (decades?) ago about charging to enter churches.
Churches had always been open to all who wanted to enter and pray, at any time. The same arguments were put forward at the time.
Eventually it happened, most call the fee "voluntary" and you don't have to pay if you are attending a service. Now nobody comments on paying to enter Westminster Abbey or York Minster.

If they use the money to maintain the community, great! If it lines the pockets of the council....

Italians shrug a lot, not just at tourists, but at life’s situations.

We have found them to be warm and welcoming and willing to help in any way.

If they are being overwelmed with tourist, that i think it is a good idea. Day trippers often spend very little, ice creams, postcards etc, but the maintance cost from huge volumes of people coming into small medieval towns are massive.

Italy and Great Britain are two of my favorite countries. I find the people in both to be friendly and not uncaring.
Of course, there are always exceptions.

I would agree that for very unique historical sites that charging admission is reasonable.

One thing about Italy, you do need to take care of your personal belongings, since pickpockets can be a problem.

This the same town (Polignano a Mare) that was recently slammed on this forum because the OP got a parking ticket there. It was titled "Don't go to Poligano a Mare!!!" Looks like it got deleted.

Looks to me like the entry for Polignano a Mare center is temporary over the holiday and more of a special-event or 'festival' fee?

The ticketing system started this month and will cover the whole
Christmas season until Epiphany on January 6, a period in which the
village is illuminated by thousands of festive lights.

Domenico Vitto, the mayor, said the tickets buy not just entry to the
town, but also a bag of popcorn, a doughnut, candy floss and a drink.

I don't have an issue with it if it's helping an economy that suffers during the off season?

We sure haven't yet felt badly treated anywhere in Italy. Certainly not exploited.

Great idea. Maybe they should add turnstiles with a fee at the causeway, cruise terminal and Santa Lucia exits in Venice, too.

Polignano a Mare isn’t worth your time, even if it’s free. (Just my opinion). However, to say that Italian towns are being inundated by tourists is a grand understatement. There are costs associated with coping with the flood, and here we have one town’s way of doing that.

If I were considering visiting this town because it was of interest to me for one reason or another, then paying would actually make me MORE likely to visit it. I certainly wouldn’t visit only because of the fee, but if the town was already on my radar then yes.

A fee would discourage some people from coming in, especially those who don’t care that much about the town’s sights or history. Leaving fewer visitors who have active reason to be there, ideally meaning a less crowded and more pleasant experience.

But as I write this all sorts of negative implications are occurring to me so...this warrants more thought.

Not surprised at the responses. It's just my opinion.

If you have traveled to more than one country, you should have found that in England, Scotland, Ireland, Spain, Denmark, Norway, Sweden, Finland, Poland, Germany among others hotel owners (and even hostel workers) will not shrug at your request and fail to fulfill it. If you need a towel, it will be provided. If the bill is wrong, it will be fixed.

I've had only one experience that was "Italian" in France. A hotel in Beaune didn't have hot water and the owner didn't do anything about it. My immediate thought - am I in Italy?

You might not agree but I'm amazed you haven't noticed this yourselves.

We recently talked about AlItalia on this sight too. The consensus was they are the worst for losing luggage and even worse finding it after it's lost. Why? They don't care.

According to the mayor, it is achieving its intended effect of encouraging tourism, not discouraging it. So, is it any ethically different then the very common practice in US cities of charging visitors taxes for auto rentals and hotel rooms, as was mentioned? I dont think so. Like pay toilets, I don't mind paying if it means nicer facilities.

Thanks for the article and for all the thoughtful posts on this topic. For me, I would not be turned off by paying an enterance fee if I wanted to visit a town or a particular site.

As for Italy, I have been fortunate in my travels to have outstanding hospitality. In Venice, our apartment host met us at our Vaporetto stop, made recommendations to restaurants and when we accidentally broke some dish ware, told us not to worry, no charge. In Monterosso, our host lugged luggage for 6 people up an down 3 flights of stairs. When we needed towels for the beach, restaurant reservations and special requests for breakfast—no problem. Our host in Venice drive us to our tour so we wouldn’t be late because I messed up on the taxi.

I could go on, but won’t bore the forum. I hope that others experience the generous and friendly Italy that I have in my travels.

I might be more likely to visit the town (if I had deemed it worthy of a visit), after learning that there were charging admission. Might be less crowded that way.

I don't think this a very good example of the dynamic that you site, "Italians see tourists as objects to be exploited". In any country you will feel as if sometimes you are being nickeled and dimed compared to home, or other countries in Europe. On the plus side for Italy, trains are cheap and churches are generally free. My father-in-law used to say, in Italy they know they have a beautiful country and it's going to cost you to visit. I last visited Italy two years ago, and found it to be more reasonable on hotels and meals than it was in 2007 (though maybe I am less price sensitive).

I do find in Italy there is a larger share of people in the tourist industry who show contempt for tourists, as if they are going to show you who's boss. But they are still a small portion of those you may interact with.

SandyO, That's way more than I would ever expect, or even ask for. I don't ask for free coffee refills or more ice for my cola. I carry-on only and never ask someone to carry anything for me. If they want cash, I pay in cash.

My opinion relates to interactions like one I had in Florence. I went to a museum ticket window. I had three kids with me and asked, in Italian, if there was a reduction for children? The young man didn't just say no, he said, "It's only for EU citizens. Maybe if you provided a reduction to us we would give one to you." I responded I lived in Washington DC and the museums are free for everyone. The thing in Italy is it's not isolated, I run into it five to ten times a day.

I take it in stride. It adds up, however, to an overall impression of Italy. I'm really surprised others haven't noticed it.

I have not noticed the issues in Italy pointed out here. I have had nothing but good, friendly, helpful, responses from the Italians I have interacted with in Italy. But then I don't expect much when traveling since I am used to not much when I travel in the US. Have all my travels been perfectly trouble free and outstanding? No, of course not. There have been small annoyances in many of my travels in many parts of the world, but they have been pushed out of my memory by the good things I experienced. The not so great experiences that are still there make for great stories to tell over drinks. Maybe you find what you expect to find.

If "they" charge visitors in that manner, the answer is simple...I don't go, .period. A lot more other pressing priorities at hand...Germany, France, Poland, etc, etc.

Brad, I definitely am not denying your experience, but I'm thinking back on my 3-week trip to Italy in 2015, and I don't have much recollection of service issues. My lodging, though, was in B&B's and small family-owned hotels.

I do recall talking to a teenage cashier in Germany in German. He could clearly tell I was not a native and asked if I was from New Zealand. I said, "Nein, den USA." He looked utterly disgusted and stopped talking to me. I reached across the counter, grabbed him by the shirt collar, and.... Not really. I just said, "Tut mir leid!" (Sorry!).

Oh yeah... Alitalia? The Worst Airline Ever.

RE: Italy. Spent months there. My interactions with Italians fall within the same range of experiences that I've had in other countries I've visited (as well as here at home when dealing with people in service industries)--mostly okay to good, some great, and the rare clunker.

Brad, not all museums in Washington D.C. are free. Some are pretty expensive (but very good).

According to the article, these turnstiles are for high-peak times like the Advent/Christmas season Otherwise, they take the turnstiles down as they will go down after the Day of Epiphany. Visit the Puglia region when the tourist mob scenes are not there and thus the turnstiles are down. Win/Win.

Where I have experienced museums to be free is London, at least, at some of those. . Other cities Paris and Vienna have certain museums free given a certain day, eg, the first Sunday of the month, or the 1st day of the month, etc.

Other than that I always expect to pay the regular adult price. Of course, it is a pleasant surprise to see a senior price offered, usually one Euro less. Depending on the museum, how esoteric it is, I let that difference go, that one Euro difference, which I paid extra instead of the senior price, it can serve as my donation to the museum.

Well, unless the mayors of two towns charging for admisssion are wrong, it is bringing in MORE visitors, not fewer. I find that interesting. Do a lot of tourists think that “if it costs, it must be better”? Because it obviously hasn’t made for fewer tourists.

The idea that it brings in more tourists doesn't ring true. One person said if the crowds were thinner, they wouldn't mind paying admission. What if the crowds are bigger?

I have a feeling the mayors are giving a talking point rather than facts. Everything is spin these days.

I would not pay an admission fee to visit any town in the course of a regular visit. A special occassion, as mentioned, maybe? I believe that particular town is a haunt of countless chefs on television, who all have a special way of cooking the same dish.

My experiences in Italy have generally been more agreeable than Brad's but Italy is the only country where restauranteurs have blatantly tried to pull the wool over my eyes. More than once. I can't persuade my wife to return.

Brad keeps repeating that he's surprised that others of us aren't making the same generalizations that he is about Italian encounters vs. UK (or wherever) encounters, and some comments are mirror images from people who have (almost) only positive friendly treatment to report --
Isn't it obvious that no one here besides Brad has the exact same data set to draw conclusions from because no one here besides Brad is Brad himself?
Brad can legitimately interpret his own experience comparing trips in one part of Europe to trips in other parts of Europe, and so can each of us -- clear enough.
This is why RS words his advice the way he does -- he carefully suggests that Italy gets more intense the farther south you go, so that if you're getting excited by the time you get to Rome you should keep going, but if you're getting annoyed by the time you get to Rome you should stop, because either way the places are going to get moreso as you continue.

I'm of the reverse temperament -- Paris is about as far north as I feel positive about going because to me it's the people who get chilly as you go farther up, not just the weather. I much prefer, and get along easier, with southern Europeans. That's a generalization still, but perhaps less of a broad-brushed one.

I usually make up about half of the parties involved in the interactions I have with other people, so I try to remember to include my own peculiarities in my analysis of how well people in a given place get along with me. I'm crazy that way.

Thanks avirosemail,

Apparently Rick Steves and I notice it, but most people on the site don't. I think that's somewhat funny.

As I said to start I like, but don't love, Italy. Why like? There's so much history to see along with beautiful countryside and coasts. Why not love? Primarily because in Italy, I feel I'm treated as "ho hum" another tourist. When I visit Spain, as an example, I feel like they actually appreciate that I came to visit their country. It's not that they did more things for me, it's the attitude.

When I talk to people about going to Italy, it's not much different than what Rick says. I ask how they would feel if they arrived in their double hotel room and there was only one towel? If they then called the service desk for a towel and it wasn't delivered? If they then went to the front desk to ask for a towel and it still wasn't delivered? If you would laugh and think it's a quirky part of travel, you will likely love Italy. If you would be worked up about it, you probably won't love Italy. I tend to laugh at it, but I still notice.

Like traveling in the US, some cities are just nicer places than others - some prettier, others with better parks or museums. I wasn't too thrilled with Philadelphia (along with W.C. Fields) but I like NYC, both largely due to the attitudes I've encountered.