Overtourism in Italy: The Places Bearing the Heaviest Burden — and What's Being Done

Italy is the fifth most visited country in the world, drawing around 65 million international arrivals each year. But that tourism doesn't spread evenly: it piles onto a handful of destinations that are being pushed well past their limits.

Venice is the most glaring example. The city has lost more than 100,000 residents over the past fifty years, falling from 174,000 to fewer than 50,000. Meanwhile, on peak days, the number of day-trippers can exceed 80,000. The ratio is surreal: more tourists than inhabitants, every single day. In 2024, Venice introduced a €5 entry fee for day visitors — a controversial move that has generated more debate than results.

The Cinque Terre receives around 3 million visitors a year across five borghi that together count fewer than 5,000 residents. The Sentiero dell'Amore was closed for years due to erosion damage from the passing of millions of feet. The national park authority introduced a cap of 1,500 people per day on the main trail.

The Amalfi Coast has an infrastructural problem at its core: a single coastal road that in summer becomes a permanent gridlock. Positano, with its 3,800 inhabitants, receives over a million tourists a year. Residents have become a minority in their own town.

Florence has the most densely touristed historic centre in Italy: roughly 16 million visitors a year crowding an area just over 5 km². Short-term rentals have driven residents out of the centre: in some neighbourhoods, more than 60% of apartments now serve as tourist accommodation.

Rome manages the flows more effectively thanks to its sheer size, but places like the Trevi Fountain, the Vatican Museums and the Colosseum reach saturation levels that degrade the experience for visitors and Romans alike.

The solutions on the table vary widely. The regulatory approach: visitor caps (Cinque Terre), entry fees (Venice), restrictions on short-term rentals (Florence). The technological approach: mandatory bookings, real-time crowd monitoring systems, apps that suggest alternative routes. The cultural approach: awareness campaigns, promotion of lesser-known destinations, incentives for off-season travel.

None of these solutions is sufficient on its own. The problem is structural: the economic model of mass tourism generates concentrated profits and diffuse costs. Those who gain — tour operators, platforms, short-term rental owners — are not the ones who pay the price: residents, public infrastructure, the environment.

As travellers, we can do our part. Avoid peak-season destinations during the crunch. Choose accommodation that doesn't pull homes away from residents. Explore the alternatives — and Italy has hundreds of them — instead of filing past the same five postcards.

Overtourism isn't inevitable. It's the result of choices: by governments, by companies, by individual travellers. And it can change, one choice at a time.