The waters have receded, but so has Venice’s crucial tourism business, with cancellation rates for hotels rising as high as 45% and conference and convention bookings as well.
According to Vittorio Bonacini, head of the Hotel Association, “Since mid-November, following a historic flood, we have seen an unprecedented drop (in the number) of bookings. This did not even happen after the attacks on the Twin Towers.” He added “We have received worried calls from the United States, asking us if a child one and a half meters tall could visit without being in danger.”
The question appears to have been prompted by news reports about the high tides that swept the city last month, rising to 1.87 and 1.3m; Bonacini hastened to minimize the effect on the city, saying that the high tide only reached those levels for an hour and a half, and that since the city is one metre above sea level, a 1.3m tide means the city was only under 30cm of water. Of course, 30cm is just under one foot deep—safe, perhaps, but not enjoyable!
