Italians split over new measures to tackle record tourism surge

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

Long queues, chaos, and noise, difficulties in finding places in public transportation and parking lots, crowds in restaurants and on the streets, serious disruptions in daily life — these are the effects of the phenomenon known as over-tourism, which increasingly frustrates residents of cities like Rome, Venice, and Florence, visited by hundreds of thousands of people.

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

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

Analyzing the survey results, it was noted that one-fifth of Italians deem the introduction of 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 so that tourists feel more comfortable in crowded places.