A fierce protest erupted simultaneously in Venice, Italy, where Amazon founder Jeff Bezos' 'wedding of the century' took place.
According to reports from CNN and other foreign media on the 28th (local time), Bezos and Lauren Sanchez held their wedding in Venice. The event's expense is estimated at $10 million (about 14 billion won), and over 200 guests, including Bill Gates, Leonardo DiCaprio, and Kim Kardashian, attended.
Venetian authorities and some tourism operators have consistently claimed that the billionaire wedding would benefit the local economy.
Bezos also moved the wedding venue from the originally planned downtown area to the outskirts due to criticism and security concerns. Additionally, he donated $3 million (about 410 million won) to the Venice Council.
However, there was considerable backlash against commercializing Venice, a UNESCO World Heritage Site, and taking away the local residents' living space.
Protesters installed a banner on the Rialto Bridge saying, 'There is no space for Bezos.'
A citizen participating in the protest remarked in an interview with an Italian media outlet, 'The biggest problem is that Venice is turning into an amusement park. It's a huge issue that billionaires can come and use the city like a theme park.'
The reason for the protesters' backlash is the issue of overtourism. The population of the historic center of Venice is about 50,000, but 25 to 30 million tourists flock every year. In 2023, the number of tourist accommodations surpassed the local population for the first time.
Due to high rents, indigenous people are migrating to the outskirts, causing essential facilities such as schools, hospitals, and grocery stores to disappear from the old town.
The scale of tourism in Venice is estimated at €2.3 billion (about 3.4 trillion won) annually. Most of the 50,000 citizens in the old city work in tourism-related industries. However, according to the Italian National Institute of Statistics, Venice ranked last in terms of income distribution within the Veneto region.
Seventy-three percent of all taxpayers in Venice earn less than €26,000 (about 41 million won) annually.
The Venice city government started charging a €5 entrance fee to day-trippers as a response to overtourism last year. This year, the number of days charges were applied was increased to 54, but the number of tourists has actually risen.
Similar conflicts are occurring in other European cities. In Barcelona, Spain, protesters have sprayed water guns at tourists, while Budapest in Hungary and Athens in Greece have decided to suspend the issuance of short-term rental permits for tourists.