Venice is trying to reduce the impact of mass tourism, which is expected to ban loudspeakers and tourist groups of more than 25 people, according to the BBC.

The new rules will take effect from June according to a city announcement.

The use of loudspeakers has been banned as they can “create confusion and disturbance”, it adds.

Hypertourism is widely recognized as an urgent issue for Venice, one of the most popular places in Europe.

In September, Venice approved the trial of a €5 fee for daily visitors.

Elisabetta Pesce, the official in charge of the city’s security, said the latest policies “are aimed at improving the management of groups organized in the historic center”.

The city has an area of ​​only 7.6 square kilometers (2.7 square miles), but hosted nearly 13 million tourists in 2019, according to Italy’s national statistics agency. Visitor numbers are expected to surpass pre-pandemic levels in the coming years.

Earlier this year Unesco said the city should be added to a list of world heritage sites in danger, as the effects of climate change and mass tourism threaten to cause irreversible changes to it.

In 2021, large cruise ships were banned from entering the historic center of Venice via the Giudecca Canal after a ship crashed in the harbor. Critics had also argued that the ships were causing pollution and eroding the foundations of the city, which suffers from regular flooding.