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As European cities continue to struggle with surging tourist numbers, Italian farmers have taken matters into their own hands.
Locals have installed their own turnstiles across the Dolomites as influencers continue to flock to the mountain range in northeastern Italy.
Carlo Zanella, president of the Alto Adige Alpine Club, told Fox News Digital that the turnstiles are “working.”
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“The turnstiles were installed at the beginning of July by a farmer who owns the land where the path passes,” said Zenella.
Located in Val Gardena on the Seceda, the turnstiles charge visitors about $5 for access.
Italian farmers install turnstiles that require $5 for access to the Dolomites mountain range. The goal is to control tourist overcrowding. (Carlo Zanella)
Zanella shared the “big problem” that farmers are facing.
He said it’s about visitors “who go to the meadows to pass or have a picnic and ruin the grass that the farmer has to cut to make hay.”
The Dolomiti Superski area, spanning over 12 valleys, had 4 million winter visitors in the 2024 season, according to The Times.
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“I am against the influencers,” said Zanella, “because they almost always tell things that are not in events [related] to the locality and show the mountain differently from what it is. They are only interested in making money [through] advertising.”
“The turnstiles were installed at the beginning of July by a farmer who owns the land where the path passes,” a source told Fox News Digital. (Carlo Zanella)
Photos of the mountain range shared on social media show daily lines of thousands of tourists.
In the Province of Belluno, where the Dolomites are located, tourist arrivals increased 11% from 2019 to 2023, according to the official tourism portal.
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“The first 11 months of 2024 show a stability in flows compared to the previous year,” the tourism portal notes.
The Dolomiti Superski area, which spans over 12 valleys, had 4 million winter visitors in the 2024 season. (Carlo Zanella)
Zanella said local authorities have met about how to handle tourism issues, but no decision has been made yet.
He believes the best way to reduce the flow of tourists is to highlight that “there are other even more beautiful places to visit.”
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Fox News Digital reached out to the Ufficio Informazioni e Accoglienza Turistica for comment.
