This was published 4 years ago
Venice tourist 'kidnaps' cashier in protest at poor exchange rate
By Nick Squires
A tourist has gone wild over the exchange rate given by a currency bureau in Venice.Credit: iStock
tourist in Venice took out his anger over the meagre rate offered by a currency exchange bureau by allegedly holding hostage a female employee in protest.
The 46-year-old Israeli man walked into a currency exchange office near the Rialto Bridge, which spans the Grand Canal, and asked to change US dollars into Euros.
Furious at the poor exchange rate and the paltry amount of Euros he received, he allegedly barricaded himself and the female member of staff into the exchange bureau.
The currency exchange was near Venice's famous Rialto Bridge.Credit: iStock
Demanding that he be given his dollars back, he refused to allow her to leave for half an hour.
The woman, who was deeply shaken by the experience, eventually managed to call the police.
Officers arrived and the man was taken to the nearest police station, where he was charged with kidnapping the cashier.
The incident, which happened on Tuesday, is the latest episode of unacceptable behaviour by tourists in Venice.
Last month, an enraged tourist from South America head-butted and punched a gondolier during an altercation over taking a selfie.
The man had reportedly been taking photos of himself and his family in a gondola tethered to a canal bank.
When the gondolier protested that the boat was private property and that the man and his family should get out or pay for a ride, the tourist became angry.
See: Venice gondolier headbutted by tourist in row over selfie
In August, two young Norwegian women were fined after going for a swim in their underwear in the Rio di Cannaregio canal.
In July, two German backpackers were fined €950 and expelled from Venice after they were found making coffee on a portable stove beneath the Rialto Bridge.
See: Backpackers fined, kicked out of Venice over morning coffee
In June, two British tourists were fined €350 after cycling bare-chested around the city, contravening public decency regulations.
Venice's ever-dwindling population – it is now down to around 53,000 inhabitants – is swamped by more than 20 million visitors a year.
The city is to introduce a tax on tourists from July, describing it as "a contribution for access".
The amount that visitors will pay was announced on Thursday – €3 per head during quiet periods in the city, €6 during moderately busy periods and €8 during really crowded times, such as Carnival and Easter.
The aim of the controversial tax is to make the millions of day-trippers who descend on La Serenissima each year contribute to the upkeep of the city.
The Telegraph, London
See also: 'Addicted to cash': Why Venice is dying
See also: Secret Venice: The places tourist crowds don't know about
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