The stunning capital of the Tuscany region of Italy, which attracts millions of tourists each year, has taken big steps towards a crackdown on overtourism.
Mayor Sara Funaro’s cabinet has approved a 10-point plan that would ban several items from Florence’s historic centre, a statement from City Hall said.
This would include banning key boxes on buildings and the use of loudspeakers by tour guides. The former, small boxes with a digital pad that are used by owners of short-term rental apartments, such as Airbnb, to easily leave keys for visitors, have become something of a symbol of local Florentine anger at tourists.
The number of visitors to the city has recovered to an impressive rate after Covid-19, Irish News reported.
The move comes just as the Italian government hosts the group of G7 tourism ministers in the Renaissance city and seeks to significantly boost the country’s standing as a top visitor destination.
In a recent protest, Florentines taped red Xs over the keyboxes, outraged at the fact that the beautiful city centre including its iconic palazzi and narrow streets, has transformed into a collection of short-term holiday rentals that have displaced local residents and the long-standing businesses that served them.
According to the national statistics bureau ISTAT, 2023 saw the most visitors to Italy, with 134 million arrivals and 451 million people staying in hotels or other registered lodgings.
The number of visitors opting for non-hotel lodging grew nearly 17 percent compared with 2022, ISTAT said in a June report.
Italy’s tourism industry contributed some 10.5 percent to its GDP in 2023, according to Statista. The southern European country also ranks fourth in the UN World Tourism Barometer of international tourist destinations, behind France, Spain and the US.
Last year, Florence announced a ban on new short-term private rentals in the centre in hopes of stemming the exodus of locals.
It has repeatedly pressed for a special regulation from the national government, currently headed by prime minister Giorgia Meloni, to cap the number of days a property can be rented out at 120.
At the moment, Venice has been the only destination permitted to limit short-term rentals, which has been crumbling under tourist numbers for many years. This year, a day-tripper entry fee tax was imposed to try to regulate tourist flows.
The political divide over Florence and its tourism issues could come to a head as the G7 tourism ministers head to the city on Wednesday.
On the weekend, tourism minister Daniela Santanche acknowledged some art cities were suffering from too many visitors.
However, she said that overall Italy is hardly taking advantage of its tourism potential and needs 50 million extra visitors a year.
“We can grow much more, we can develop much more and the industry of tourism can truly become the leading industry of our nation,” she said.
