Pressing Issues: A Venetian Socioeconomic Overview

This project discusses and assesses the current condition of tourism, retail, and cargo delivery as well as the social and economic implications of each in Venice, Italy. The 14.6 million yearly tourists have been the main supporters of Venetian retail in the last decades creating an immense demand for tourist related shops such as high fashion clothes or souvenir shops. Defects in the current cargo delivery system have made the delivery of goods to retail stores more costly which is a contributing factor to price inflation. Through analysis of official Comune di Venezia data, interviews with important people, and personal observation, our team was able to gain insight on these issues, conduct an assessment of these three activities, as well as make suggestions for more efficient documentation and planning. One would think that the positive effects of tourism on retail would also be the same for cargo delivery, however our team has found that tourism does not necessarily stimulate cargo deliveries. The reason being that most of the daily cargo is delivered to food stores rather than non-food tourist related shops which require fewer deliveries. Each of these three activities has its economic benefits and detriments as well as social implications. Understanding how tourism, retail, and cargo delivery relate and rely on each other is vital for a better socioeconomic planning to keep Venice afloat.