World Travel Guide

City Guide  - Venice  - Business
Business

Business Profile: Venice, once a city at the centre of global trading, today retains little of its original influence on the world of commerce. Severe planning restrictions, a lack of space and fears of damaging the city's unique architectural heritage has pushed the industry to the outlying suburbs of Mestre and Marghera. Neither of these two towns have anything to recommend them - with their steel shacks belching fumes and their endless streets of flat-fronted apartments - but without her industrial arms La Serenissima would exist as a ghost town, strait-jacketed by a stagnant economy and the slow drip of departing workers. Marghera, with its oil refineries and petrochemical development along the lagoon shore, helped boost the economy in the 1960s, but also contributed its fair share of damage to Venice. In particular, the dredging of the 14m-deep (45ft) channel through the lagoon to give access to tankers, which altered the Adriatic's tidal currents and exacerbated flooding in the city.

The petrochemical industry continues to exist in Marghera, but nowadays it works under tight regulations to ensure no further damage to the lagoon. In general, commercial diversity has been subsumed in favour of tourism - creating a city that is in danger of turning into a theme park. The Venetians depend on tourism for survival, and yet - as their city is raped and pillaged on a daily basis - many are casting around for ways in which tourist access can be limited and business opportunities revived. The memories of Black Sunday, a particular day in May 1987 when a record 150,000 tourists engulfed the city, stir the Venetians to action. The city's deputy mayor for culture is calling for rationed access to the city, ticketing all tourists, in order to limit the number in Venice at any one time. However, that will undoubtedly affect the city's thriving economy and could indirectly cull some of the 50% of Venice's population who work in the tourist trade.

Up to 40,000 people still commute into Venice every day, to help maintain the city's upkeep. Shopkeepers, hoteliers and restauranteurs all depend on tourism to survive and any restrictions on the tourist would send the city's unemployment soaring. Local businesses not dependent on tourism have moved to Mestre in search of cheaper office space, but the town is not sufficiently cosmopolitan to have attracted international industry - and many graduates and budding entrepreneurs continue to leave the city in droves. The quality of life is good in Venice, but only if you can afford it.

Business Etiquette
: Venice is not a young city. Despite its 23,000 students, the average age of the Venetian citizen is 46, and business is accordingly a conservative and somewhat dour affair. Business visitors are unlikely to be entertained at home or given a tour of the city's nightlife - Venetians are domestic creatures, who rise early to cross town while the city is still free of tourists, and close their shutters around 2100. An island people, they can appear reserved and somewhat aloof. However, Venetians are also extremely proud of their unique little city and visitors may be richly rewarded with an elegant lunch in one of the city's top restaurants, or an aperitif and some of Venice's famous cichetti (snacks). Formality should be maintained for business matters - Italian associates should always be addressed as Lei (the polite form of tu) unless otherwise indicated. Dress is conservative - a suit, or blazer and tie - and punctuality is respected. Although many executives will speak English, it is advisable to conduct business in Italian if possible - Italians always appreciate a visitor who tries to speak their language, however poorly. Normal business hours are 0900-1700, but much of the city (tourism aside) closes down in August for the annual Italian summer holidays.



Copyright © 2001 Columbus Publishing
    
GENERAL
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BUSINESS
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ENTERTAINMENT
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