overtourism – आवारा मुसाफिर

Too many tourists? Crowds offer an opportunity for Italy’s south

May 18, 202586 Views

Parish rooms turned into B&B in impoverished Palermo district Tourism brings benefits but requires strategy, councillor says Most residents happy with revenues, but some complain Operators say visitors improved city after mafia war In a rundown neighbourhood of Sicily's capital Palermo, a whitewashed old farmhouse that accommodates pilgrims now offers two rooms to tourists for bed and breakfast after a renovation. As foreign visitors flock to Sicily, last year Brother Mauro Billetta, head of the parish in the Danisinni neighbourhood, decided that revenue from B&B guests could help lift the area out of decades of neglect. Two months ago he also opened a cafe at the farmhouse, overlooking the vegetable garden. Tourists walk along Maqueda street, in Palermo, Ita...

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Venice expands day-tripper tax in bid to combat overtourism

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April 19, 2025138 Views

Venice is charging day-trippers to the famed canal city an arrivals tax for the second year starting Friday, a measure aimed at combating the kind of overtourism that put the city’s UNESCO World Cultural Heritage status at risk. A UNESCO body decided against putting Venice on its list of cultural heritage sites deemed in danger after the tax was announced. But opponents of the day-tripper fee say it has done nothing to discourage tourists from visiting Venice even on high-traffic days. Tourists walk in Venice, Italy, Friday, April 18, 2025, Venice on Friday launches for a second year a pilot program to charge day-trippers an entrance fee. (AP Photo/Antonio Calanni) Here’s a look at Venice’s battle with overtourism by the numbers: 5-10 euros (about $6-$11) The fee charged to...

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Tourist tax: Travellers warned over growing fees

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March 16, 2025185 Views

Travellers should plan ahead and avoid being stung by costly tourist tax this summer, as more countries look to charge visitors. Travel insurance comparison experts from Quotezone.co.uk are providing holidaymakers with their very own tourist tax guide for some of the most popular holiday destinations to help them with their holiday planning. This comes after news that holiday hotspots like Greece, France and the Netherlands are increasing their tourist tax in preparation for record visitor numbers. More destinations around the world are also introducing tourist taxes in response to over-tourism and government concerns around local environments and cultural heritage. Tourists carry their luggage in the neighborhood of Koukaki, in Athens, Greece, September 11, 2024. REUTERS/...

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Pope’s big Holy Year only aggravates Rome’s overtourism crisis

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December 22, 2024275 Views

When Pope Francis left the Vatican earlier this month for his traditional Christmastime outing downtown, he acknowledged what many Romans have been complaining about for months: That his big plans for a Holy Year had turned their city into a giant construction pit, with traffic-clogging roadworks tearing up major thoroughfares, scaffolding covering prized monuments and short-term rentals gobbling up apartment blocks. Francis urged Romans to pray for their mayor — “He has a lot to do” — but to nevertheless welcome the upcoming Jubilee as a time of spiritual repair and renewal. “These worksites are fine, but beware: Don’t forget the worksites of the soul!” Francis said. When he formally opens the Holy Year next week, Francis will launch a dizzying 12-month calendar of events that ...

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A criticized Airbnb deal will let users play gladiator in Rome’s Colosseum

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November 17, 2024222 Views

The ancient Roman Colosseum will be the venue of gladiator fights — albeit staged — for the first time in two millennia under a $1.5 million sponsorship deal with Airbnb that aims to promote “a more conscious tourism.” But some visitors to the monument Thursday, as well as housing activists, were skeptical about the value of the arrangement, citing ongoing controversies in many cities over the role of short-term rental platforms in fueling overtourism and limiting affordable housing for residents and students. Under the deal announced by Airbnb and the Colosseum on Wednesday, the sponsorship by the short-term rental giant will cover the renewal of an educational program inside the ancient Roman amphitheater covering the history of the structure and gladiators. FILE PHOTO: A gener...

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Italy’s Pompeii to cap daily visitor numbers to 20,000

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November 9, 2024307 Views

The ancient Roman archaeological park of Pompeii in southern Italy said on Friday it would cap daily visitor numbers at 20,000 as a response to its surging popularity. The change, effective from Nov. 15, comes after a peak of more than 36,000 daily entrances on a free-admission Sunday, the park said in a statement. The park's director, Gabriel Zuchtriegel, said that reducing human pressure on the ancient site was important for conservation and safety reasons. A detail of a richly decorated but uncommonly small house with finely preserved frescoes of mythological scenes is pictured in the archaeological site in Pompeii, Italy, in this handout photo obtained by Reuters on October 24, 2024. Parco Archeologico di Pompei/Handout via REUTERS The new limit follows attempts by other t...

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Will a curfew ease overtourism in Seoul’s historic Hanok Village?

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October 30, 2024327 Views

Kwon Young-doo, owner of a private art gallery in Seoul's historic Bukchon Hanok Village, is concerned about an impending curfew policy aimed at mitigating overtourism in the area. The curfew, set for a trial in November and to be officially launched in March next year, will limit tourist access to specific areas of Bukchon from 5 p.m. (0800 GMT) to 10 a.m. Fines of up to 100,000 won ($72) will be imposed on violators. Kwon Young-doo, the owner of the Asia Cultural Art Museum in Bukchon Hanok Village, introduces traditional collectibles during an interview with Reuters in Seoul, South Korea, October 18, 2024. REUTERS/Kim Soo-hyeon "Who would want to visit?" said Kwon, the owner of the Asian Cultural Art Museum, who moved to the historic area 18 years ago. "They'll leave with a ba...

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Venice expands tourist entry fee system to include more days

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October 24, 2024382 Views

Venice is going to broaden its tourist entry fee system in 2025, almost doubling the number of days visitors will have to pay to see the lagoon city, and hiking the price for last-minute arrivals, officials said on Thursday. In a world first, the Italian destination introduced a 5- euro charge in April for daytrippers arriving on particularly congested days, hoping the levy would help thin the crowds. Mayor Luigi Brugnaro stressed that the tax aims to help the city and its citizens battle overtourism and avoid huge influxes of visitors during crowded holidays and weekends. FILE PHOTO: Tourists walk in St Mark's Square on the day Venice municipality introduces a new fee for day trippers in a move to preserve the lagoon city often crammed with tourists in Venice, Italy, April 25, 2...

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Hungary mulls freeze on Airbnb licences in Budapest

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October 14, 2024321 Views

Hungary's government is considering a plan to impose a moratorium on new Airbnb licences in Budapest and to raise taxes on short-term apartment rentals in the capital city, the economy minister said on Monday. Marton Nagy announced the plans about a month after residents of Budapest's sixth district voted to ban short-term rentals from 2026, the first such ban in one of Europe's most popular tourist destinations. Some residents in European tourist hotspots blame short-term lets for driving up home prices. In central Europe, Budapest was the most popular city for short-term stays in 2023 with 6.7 million guest nights, according to Eurostat, ahead of Vienna, Prague, Warsaw, Krakow and others. Eurostat figures show almost 719 million guest nights spent in the European Union were...

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In a record year for tourism revenues, Greece to ban new short-term lets in Athens

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September 16, 2024250 Views

Ban to be in force for at least a year, tax on holiday lets to be increased A ban on new licences for short-term rentals in three districts in central Athens will be in force for at least a year, the Greek government said on Monday, also raising the tax on such holiday lets. Like many other European tourism destinations, Greece is seeking to balance a profitable industry fuelled by online platforms such as Airbnb with the needs of locals facing a housing shortage. A lack of housing and the rising cost of living prompted the country this month to announce an increase in a tax on short-term rentals, ban new licences in central Athens and give homeowners incentives to switch to long-term rentals. A view of the cityscape with the Parthenon temple atop the Acropolis hill seen in th...