PRESS RELEASE
Three turning-point actions against overtourism, and in favour of better tourism
The summer season has firmly brought the English word overtourism into everyday discussion. Recurring cases of overcrowding in major Italian and international destinations, from Venice and the Cinque Terre to the recent “Bologna case” raised by the New York Times, are putting social, cultural and economic balances under pressure and intensifying the negative effects of tourism: local residents’ frustration, depopulation, the loss of everyday service businesses, the growth of low-quality tourist retail and much more.
Beyond perceptions, official data show that Italy is affected above all by an uneven distribution of tourist flows, especially international ones. In 2023, 48.1% of foreign arrivals were concentrated in just six provinces: Venice (11.8%), Rome (10.2%), Bolzano (8.4%), Milan (6.9%), Florence (5.6%) and Verona (5.2%). Yet the same data also suggest that the situation is not static. In 2008, concentration in the top six provinces was 53%; in 2013 it was 51%. This means that, alongside overall growth in international arrivals, tourists have gradually been spreading across more regions and more months of the year.
That is positive news, because it helps contain the August peak driven by domestic tourism and aligns with the lengthening of the tourism season. Between 2013 and 2023, overnight stays grew especially strongly in April (+51%) and October (+35%). The problems triggered by overtourism, however, must not become an anti-tourism movement. That would ignore the economic value of tourism for Italy, worth around 13% of GDP, as well as its social and cultural role: tourism fosters dialogue between cultures, combats stereotypes through direct experience, helps preserve traditions and can reduce depopulation in peripheral areas.
The real challenge is to govern visitor flows rather than merely react to their excesses. Ad hoc mitigation measures can only contain the problem. What is needed instead are systemic interventions capable of narrowing the gap between high-pressure destinations and lower-flow areas, shifting demand towards the latter while creating economic, social and cultural value.
“The challenge is not to oppose tourism, but to govern it. Italy needs system-level action capable of connecting high-pressure destinations with lower-flow areas and of generating value in a more balanced way,” says Roberta Garibaldi.
The first step is to define a stronger tourism management model. Italy’s current landscape is fragmented and uneven, even though many strong best practices already exist. One key move would be the creation of a formal register of destination managers, with an enabling exam. Today, people responsible for decisions that affect local communities, public spending and territorial development are not required to demonstrate professional qualification in the same way as travel agency managers or tourist guides. Past research on Italian DMOs showed that only 55% of directors came from a tourism-related background.
The second action is to establish a national study centre with the task of analysing the phenomenon in depth, mapping indicators, assessing carrying capacity, gathering and spreading best practices and offering concrete solutions to policy-makers. Such a body would act as a bridge between national strategy and local territories.
The third turning-point action is to strengthen rural tourism and the broader food and wine tourism system, one of the most promising drivers for rebalancing flows between cities, rural areas and inland destinations. This requires, first of all, a national strategic plan able to unlock durable value from Italy’s food and wine heritage. In the joint OIV-UN Tourism survey, 21 of the 48 countries consulted reported having a national wine tourism strategy. Italy was not among them, unlike direct competitors such as Spain.
Developing tourism in inland areas also requires an innovative territorial model. What works in Rome or Milan cannot simply be replicated in Molise or Basilicata. Transport is one obvious example: while much public debate has focused on taxis in large cities, the real question is how to make inland territories accessible in an effective, attractive way. Promotion and information must be redesigned as well. Interest in discovering lesser-known destinations is growing fast: 93% of Italians say they would like to take a trip to discover the country’s small inland villages, yet only 58% actually did so in the last year. That gap can only be closed if accessibility and information improve, since these remain the main weaknesses reported by travellers.
For Italy, the answer to overtourism lies in management, knowledge and a broader territorial strategy, not in retreating from tourism itself.
