New Tourist Limits Get Warm Welcome in Venice

Tourist walk in Saint Marks Square on the day Venice municipality introduces a limit for tourist groups to 25 people to protect the fragile lagoon city and reduce the pressure of mass tourism in Venice, Italy, August 1, 2024. REUTERS/Manuel Silvestri Purchase Licensing Rights
Tourist walk in Saint Marks Square on the day Venice municipality introduces a limit for tourist groups to 25 people to protect the fragile lagoon city and reduce the pressure of mass tourism in Venice, Italy, August 1, 2024. REUTERS/Manuel Silvestri Purchase Licensing Rights
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New Tourist Limits Get Warm Welcome in Venice

Tourist walk in Saint Marks Square on the day Venice municipality introduces a limit for tourist groups to 25 people to protect the fragile lagoon city and reduce the pressure of mass tourism in Venice, Italy, August 1, 2024. REUTERS/Manuel Silvestri Purchase Licensing Rights
Tourist walk in Saint Marks Square on the day Venice municipality introduces a limit for tourist groups to 25 people to protect the fragile lagoon city and reduce the pressure of mass tourism in Venice, Italy, August 1, 2024. REUTERS/Manuel Silvestri Purchase Licensing Rights

Venetians and visitors alike welcomed new rules introduced on Thursday to limit the size of tourist groups in the latest effort to reduce overcrowding.

Tourist parties will be capped at 25 people and guides will be barred from using loudspeakers to help the flow of pedestrians and make it more peaceful for residents, Reuters reported.

"I think it's right," said 81-year-old local Edie Rubert.

"It would be better to reduce it more. Because you can't walk along the narrow canalside streets when these groups are there," she added, saying it was even worse when she needed to use her shopping trolley.

In April, Venice became the first city in the world to introduce a payment system for visitors in an experiment aimed at dissuading daytrippers from arriving during peak periods.

Sebastian Fagarazzi, co-founder of the 'Venezia Autentica' (Authentic Venice) Tourist Enterprise, said more action was needed.

"It's probably a good decision in that regard, but it's not going to be enough. Tourism in Venice has pushed out 72% of the inhabitants in the past 70 years, so 28% only remain today," he said.

Venice's historic centre had more than 170,000 residents in 1954, according to city authorities. Last year, they were down to just over 49,000.

"As a consequence, it's not enough to just make smaller groups or, for example, ask people to pay a small tourism tax. What must be done is to rethink tourism in order to support the local community," added Fagarazzi, whose organisation aims to support more sustainable tourism.

The restrictions, which cover the city centre and also the islands of Murano, Burano and Torcello, also got a thumbs-up from some tourists themselves.

"Yeah, I think it's good. I mean, it's very, very congested in a lot of places," said Mark Kerr, visiting from Scotland.

"In particular, yesterday we were at the St. Mark's Basilica and the queues were massive to get in, so I think there's a need to manage it, is probably the best way I can describe it."



New Hampshire Governor Saves Man's Live while Choking at Seafood Festival

 New Hampshire Gov. Chris Sununu came to the aid of a contestant choking on a lobster roll during a contest - The AP.
 New Hampshire Gov. Chris Sununu came to the aid of a contestant choking on a lobster roll during a contest - The AP.
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New Hampshire Governor Saves Man's Live while Choking at Seafood Festival

 New Hampshire Gov. Chris Sununu came to the aid of a contestant choking on a lobster roll during a contest - The AP.
 New Hampshire Gov. Chris Sununu came to the aid of a contestant choking on a lobster roll during a contest - The AP.

New Hampshire Gov. Chris Sununu came to the aid of a contestant choking on a lobster roll at a seafood festival eating contest, using the Heimlich maneuver after the man signaled for help.

The contestant, Christian Moreno, recovered and resumed eating at the competition on stage Sunday.

Moreno was one of six participants at the Hampton Beach Seafood Festival contest. They had 10 minutes to eat as many lobster rolls as they could. The New England sandwich is traditionally stuffed with lobster, celery and mayonnaise and served on a hot dog-style bun.

“I'm shooting for at least 20,” Moreno, of Nashua, said in a video account before the contest started, saying he studied competitive eater Joey Chestnut of hot dog-contest eating fame, The AP reported.

Moreno was at the end of a long table, close to where Sununu was watching on the side of the stage after speaking to the crowd a bit earlier.

Standing, Moreno had downed about two lobster rolls when he started choking and tapped his chest, video showed. Sununu rushed out a short time later, put his arms around Moreno and started abdominal thrusts. He got in several before first responders took over, WMUR-TV reported.

Messages seeking comment Monday were sent to Sununu's office and to Moreno.

“It was crazy because it wasn’t so much the jumping in and doing it — I mean, that was wild in itself — but there was so much commotion,” Sununu, a popular Republican governor who isn't seeking reelection for fifth term, told the station.

Moreno, who didn't have his glasses on, wasn't aware it was the governor who had helped save him.

"My counter came up to me and, like, made a joke. And was like, ‘Oh, like, I bet nobody else can say that they’ve gotten the Heimlich from the governor before.’ And I looked at him, was just like, that was, that was the governor?” Moreno said.

Moreno recovered and went back to the contest. He didn't win, but he did consume nine lobster rolls in all.