Venice awaits Unesco heritage ruling as beds for tourists outnumber residents for first time

‘We feel like foreigners in our own home,’ says activist as city’s population dwarfed by visitors

The number of beds available to tourists on Venice’s main island has surpassed the number of year-round residents for the first time, as a Unesco decision on the city’s fate on the world heritage site list looms.

There are now 49,693 tourist beds, across hotels and rented holiday homes, compared with 49,304 inhabitants.