The entry fee for day visitors was supposed to be an experiment. A year later, officials say it has cut peak-day crowds by 18 percent, and they want to double it.
“We are not trying to keep people out. We are trying to keep the city livable for people who live here,” a city spokesperson said.
Some shopkeepers in the historic center said sales have fallen. Hotel owners, whose guests are exempt, have mostly welcomed the change.
