Italians divided: Calls grow for curb on over-tourism in major cities

Almost half of Italians support implementing measures to mitigate the consequences of excessive tourism. The survey results were published at the height of the tourist season, which this year is characterised by a record influx of tourists, primarily from abroad.

Long queues, chaos and noise, difficulties finding spaces on public transport and in car parks, crowds in restaurants and on the streets, and serious disruptions to daily life are the effects of the phenomenon known as over-tourism. This phenomenon increasingly irritates the residents of cities such as Rome, Venice, and Florence, which are visited by hundreds of thousands of people.

A strategy is necessary to reduce the negative impact of the current influx of tourists, limit it or control it — believe more than 49 percent of participants in a survey by the Jfc Opinion Research Institute.

38 percent of Italian residents oppose any intervention. 12 percent believe that any possible control measures would not bring real benefits.

In analysing the survey results, it was noted that one-fifth of Italians deem introducing any entry limits to popular cities and tourist destinations as unfair because, as they argue, these are public places. Nearly the same number of people believe, on the contrary, that such steps would be “ideal for a sustainable quality of life for residents.”

13 percent of Italians expressed the opinion that restrictions are justified to make tourists feel better in crowded places.