Italy's Actions Against Over-Tourism

By: C. Oliveira

Italy has persistently struggled with the issue of over-tourism, being one of the world’s most famous tourist destinations. In 2022, around 50 million people visited the country, triggering a strong response by the nation against mass tourism. With nearly 12% of its GDP owed to the industry, the country has been faced with the tough challenge of imposing actions to manage tourism in a way that preserves its beautiful natural environment and the living standards of its citizens. 
Entry fees and restrictions have been introduced in Venice this year, being the first major Italian city to introduce this form of intervention. Simone Venturin, the city’s tourism councillor, mentioned that they began a campaign to bring attention to less popular and well-known aspects of Venice, such as its fishing and craftsmanship. They also stopped allowing buildings to be converted into hotels. Furthermore, they will initiate a trial run of mandatory reservations along with the access fee on the 25th of April as an attempt to manage tourists before they arrive rather than following their arrival.

Locations like Cinque Terre National Park are especially victimised by over-tourism. The park’s President Donatella Bianchi stated that “millions of people are concentrated in just 3% of the park's surface”. 
In addition, Italy proposed policies to deal with poor behaviour and wrongdoings from visitors. An example of such behaviour is when a tourist went for a swim in one of Rome’s famous landmarks: the Trevi Fountain. The aftermath caused such turmoil that local authorities had to limit access to the historic site.​

From June onwards, as announced by officials in December, tour groups in Venice will be capped at 25 people per group and, to prevent disturbances and confusion, tour leaders will no longer be allowed to use loudspeakers to communicate with their groups, as the devices will be banned. Tourists are also asked to no longer pause while traversing the city's bridges.
Although tourism accounts for a great part of Italy’s income, with one out of every nine jobs in the country coming from hospitality, over-tourism has turned into a major issue in the Italian territory, resulting in discomfort when navigating the streets, crowded public transportation, and a big littering problem.