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While European cities struggle to cope with the influx of visitors, Italian farmers have decided to act on their own.
Residents of the region have set up personal security checkpoints in the Dolomites as the popularity of the mountain range in north-eastern Italy continues to grow among public figures.
Carlo Zanella, head of the Alpine Club Alto Adige, told Fox News Digital that the structures installed are “effective.”
“Checkpoints appeared in early July on land belonging to a local landowner, through whose land the route runs,” Zanella explained.
The devices are located in the Val Gardena area on the Seceda Pass and require a fee of approximately $5 per pass.
Landowners in Italy are introducing $5 entrance fees in the Dolomites to control tourist flows. (Carlo Zanella)
Zanella described the “serious difficulty” faced by local residents.
He noted the problem of visitors “coming onto pastures for walks or picnics, damaging the vegetation that farmers use to make hay.”
The Dolomiti Superski area, which includes 12 valleys, welcomed 4 million visitors in winter 2024, according to The Times.
“I am against influencers,” Zanella emphasized, “because they often spread false information about local traditions and distort the real appearance of the mountains. Their main goal is to monetize the content.”
“The turnstiles were installed in early July by the owner of the property through which the route passes,” Fox News Digital reported. (Carlo Zanella)
Social media posts featuring images of the mountain range regularly show multi-meter queues of travelers.
The province of Belluno, home to the Dolomites, saw tourism growth of 11% between 2019 and 2023, according to the tourism website.
“The first 11 months of 2024 demonstrate stability of indicators compared to the same period last year,” the official data specifies.
The Dolomiti Superski area, which includes 12 valleys, welcomed 4 million visitors in the 2024 winter season. (Carlo Zanella)
Zanella said authorities had held consultations on tourism issues, but final measures had not yet been determined.
In his opinion, the optimal solution to reduce the load would be to promote alternative, less well-known, but no less picturesque locations.
Representatives of Ufficio Informazioni e Accoglienza Turistica received a request for comment from Fox News Digital.
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