Entry fees for cities could deter Americans, especially those who don’t travel

This spring Venice introduced a controversial entrance fee for day-tripping tourists. Authorities say the charge is aimed at protecting the famous lagoon city from “excessive tourism”, but many locals are sceptical that it will have much effect. We asked potential tourists whether an entrance fee would deter them from visiting a city.

YouGov Surveys: Serviced data suggest that even a small fee could be an effective deterrent for some. Two in five respondents (42%) evince a strong aversion to entry fees, saying they would be “much less likely” to visit any city that charged one and 17% say they would be “somewhat less likely”. This means that nearly six in ten (59%) say they are less likely to visit.

One in five (21%) say a fee wouldn’t make a difference either way and a tenth (9%) don’t know. About one in ten (11%) say a fee would actually make them more likely to visit a destination.

Americans who don’t travel are the most incensed with entry fees

While it’s striking that so many people would say they are much less likely to visit a city that charges entry fees, the effects on tourism may be moderated by who is saying this.

According to our data, those who are most staunchly opposed to entry charges are those who don’t travel much in the first place. Among Americans who didn’t travel for leisure last year, fully half (50%) say that they would be “much less likely” to visit a city that charges them. By contrast, only a third (33%) of frequent travelers say the same.

Frequent travelers are much more likely to be open to tourist fees than non-travelers.

Among Americans who didn’t travel for leisure last year, 18% say entry fees wouldn’t make a difference either way compared to 25% of frequent travelers. Only 3% of non-travelers say they would be more likely to visit a city that charged them. Among frequent travelers (those who took more than three leisure vacations in the past year), this rises to 24%, an 8-fold difference.

While many Americans are leery of extra fees for tourists to visit cities, these sentiments are less pronounced among those who travel the most.

Methodology: YouGov Surveys: Serviced provides quick survey results from nationally representative or targeted audiences in multiple markets. This study was conducted online on August 29, 2024, with a nationally representative sample of 1,230 adults in US (aged 18+ years), using a questionnaire designed by YouGov. Data figures have been weighted by age, gender, education, race and region to be representative of all adults. Learn more about YouGov Surveys: Serviced.