Sustainable Tourism Charter for the Northern Lagoon in Venice

The Sustainable Tourism Charter for the Northern Lagoon in Venice (the Carta del Turismo Sostenibile della Laguna Nord di Venezia) shows travellers another side of Venice, less well-known but still alive and authentic: that of its beautiful Lagoon.

The Charter promotes those operators who know, love and respect the Lagoon, its traditions and its particular natural environment. There are over 20 addresses, including cultural initiatives, tour operators, farmhouses, restaurants, and craft shops, all of which are closely linked to the protection of the lagoon environment and local identities and traditions. Excursions by boat, visits to the Lagoon’s islands, restaurants, farmhouses, typical products ... with this Charter you will be accompanied to the most authentic and hidden places, respecting the natural environments and the identity of the local population.
Exploring the northern lagoon and its islands is in fact a real journey to discover the soul and roots of Venice as well as the lagoon ecosystem.

The Charter is available free to all visitors to the Northern Lagoon, both in paper and digital formats.
Download the Sustainable Tourism Charter for the Northern Lagoon in Venice

There are nine basic principles that summarize the idea of tourism that share all the proposals on the Sustainable Tourism Charter for the Northern Lagoon in Venice:

1. Working in partnership
2. Protecting and improving the natural and cultural heritage
3. Ensuring a high level of quality for residents and visitors
4. Improving knowledge of the Lagoon and issues of responsibility
5. Favouring best practice for responsible tourism
6. Supporting activities and projects for environmental / cultural improvement
7. Listening to the citizens as the best interpreters of their territory, and guests as the protagonists in the realization of the tourist product
8. Respecting the rules and laws to ensure honest competition among all involved operators
9. Increasing the benefits of tourism for the local economy

The Sustainable Tourism Charter of the Laguna Nord in Venice is a tool developed under the LIFE VIMINE project, to support and publicize local economic realities that have made sustainable tourism their distinctive feature, incorporating within the tourist offer the attention towards protecting the territory and enhancing local identity.

The central element of the Charter is cooperation between all stakeholders to develop a common strategy for tourism development. The ultimate objective is to protect the natural and cultural heritage and to continuously improve the management of tourism for the environment, the local population, businesses and visitors.

The purpose of the Charter is also to encourage the creation of a network of operators who, starting from common goals, trigger virtuous collaboration processes focusing on the conservation and enhancement of the lagoon environment.

The Sustainable Tourism Charter of the Laguna Nord in Venice is part of the LIFE VIMINE Project, of which the Venice City Council is a partner, thanks to a series of meetings attended by tour operators, with the aim of activating a coordinated proposal for responsible tourism, benefiting both local communities and the environment.

The LIFE VIMINE project is coordinated by the LASA Group of the University of Padua. The project, which began in September 2013 and is scheduled to end in September 2017, aims to define and test an integrated approach to the conservation of the barns of the lagoon of Venice, based on techniques of naturalistic engineering, ordinary maintenance of the lagoon area and participation of the interested parties.