Italy and the problem of reducing tourism load when reopening

Italy and the problem of reducing tourism load when reopening

Over the past two years, Italy's huge tourism sector has been a case of contrast between the overcrowding at most popular tourist destinations and the lack of visitors. Now, Italian tourism professionals are trying to strike a balance, moving towards sustainable tourism.

Before the Covid-19 pandemic, Italy's biggest worry and overtourism, millions of tourists from all over the world flocked to popular tourist destinations like Florence, Rome and Venice. This has adversely affected the infrastructure, environment and quality of life of residents.

But like all the rest of the world, the pandemic broke out violently in Italy, causing tourism activities to suffer.

The beaches were always overcrowded before the pandemic (Image: CNN)

According to data firm Statista, in 2019, the tourism sector brought the Italian economy 236.4 billion euros ($280.6 billion). But the pandemic has cut tourism's contribution by more than half, to just 115.8 billion euros last year.

Most scenarios suggest that the tourism sector will not recover to pre-pandemic levels until late 2023 or early 2024. But political leaders and many who work in this sector in Italy now. is taking steps to ensure that a resurgence in tourism avoids the pre-pandemic overcrowding.

Gianfranco Lorenzo, head of research at the Center for Turistic Studies (CST-Firenze) Florence, said Italy aims to reform the tourism sector to provide a higher level of services and more personalization. .

Florence is trying to implement a strategy to evenly distribute visitors to attractions to reduce excessive tourist loads (Image: Travel&Leisure)

"Italy needs to reduce its reliance on large tour buses that still go into a small town in the same amount of time. At the same time, it must promote higher-quality tourism products to show tourists what it looks like. beauty of places other than some famous ones,” suggested Lorenzo.

Valeria Minghetti, principal investigator at the Center for International Studies in Tourism Economics at Ca' Foscari University in Venice, says the problem of overtourism is not unique to Italy. Popular tourist destinations in Europe such as Amsterdam, Barcelona and Paris also have similar problems.

These cities should share information and best practices to help change tourist sentiment, she said.

“There is no reason why people have to wait in long lines to visit a famous place when there are so many other important and impressive sites that are so little known,” Ms. Minghetti said.

And Italy and many European countries have gradually reduced the load at popular tourist destinations. This summer, for example, many cities are trying to focus visitors' attention on outdoor attractions like vibrant gardens and architectural ruins, where visitors can distance themselves to prevent the spread of Covid-19.