Pompeii in Italy aims to combat mass tourism with daily visitor limit

The famous Pompeii archaeological park recently introduced a daily limit of 20000 visitors the latest Italian tourist hotspot to take action against overcrowdingThe experimental scheme will see visitors to the UNESCO World Heritage Site required to buy named tickets which in the summer will be divided into morning and afternoon slotsGabriel Zuchtriegel the director of Pompeii told AFP the measure was designed to better manage crowd numbers leading to a more sustainable growth The idea is not to close Pompeii but to expand Pompeii and better manage the flow he said at the launch of the scheme at the historic site near Naples in southern ItalyLast year more than four million people visited Pompeii an ancient Roman city buried when Mount Vesuvius erupted nearly 2000 years ago the vast majority during the summer months Organisers expect this years numbers to be even higher Some 384 million people visited between January and October including a peak of more than 36000 on one Sunday when entry was freeZuchtriegel said the numbers caused concerns about visitor and staff safety and about the protection of the unique site where many of the buildings and even some bodies of the estimated 3000 victims were perfectly preserved after the eruption We want to guarantee all visitors a highquality experience It must never be mass tourism he saidBetween April 1 and October 31 a maximum of 15000 visitors will be allowed in from 900am to 1200pm and 5000 from 1200pm to 530pmTourism worldwide has surged since the Covid19 pandemic but the numbers of people flocking to top sites has sparked warnings about potential damage to irreplaceable buildings or monuments and protests by local communities under pressureAlso ReadTo travel or not Decoding the overtourism and irresponsible tourism catastropheItaly is the fourth most popular tourist destination in the world welcoming 572 million foreign tourists last year who spent 559 billion according to the World Tourism Organization UNWTOEarlier this year locals in Barcelona staged a protest against overtourism asking tourists to ldquogo backrdquo Similar protests were also seen in Spainrsquos Canary IslandsTo combat overtourism many popular destinations have imposed certain restrictions like charging an entry fee limiting visitor numbers etcThe city of Venice earlier this year introduced a fiveeuro entry fee for day trippers during peak periods in a bid to entice tourists to visit during quieter periods Walking the newly renovated Path of Love on the Cinque Terre where at high season human traffic jams form along the trails between the regions colourful coastal villages also requires a ticketEarlier this year Mount Fuji in Japan had also imposed an entre fee for all climbers to limit tourismWith inputs from AFP