A popular Italian tourist attraction has become overrun with visitors and locals are frustrated. Every year, about 34 million people travel to experience the beautiful views of the Italian Dolomites, and Seceda in Val Gardena has become known as the region’s most popular photo opportunity.
The destination sees visitors all year round, due to its 2,519-metre mountain face and snowy peaks, it’s a popular skiing destination in wintertime, and in summer in transforms into a hiker’s dream. However, similar to other tourist hotspots across Europe, locals are becoming increasingly frustrated due to the impacts of overtourism.
Farmers have now taken matters into their own hands and introduced a €5 (£4.37) charge for those passing through newly installed turnstiles at the mountain location.
Carlo Zanella, the Alto Adige Alpine Club’s president, told CNN he would enforce a ban on so-called travel influencers from the Dolomites, accusing many of crossing private land to capture a snap for their Instagram grids.
Zanella believes the charge should be higher, more like €100 (£87.07), as the surge of people simply “isn’t what the mountains should be” about.
He explained that the situation had changed in the past few years, saying he has witnessed visitors make the journey with “sun umbrellas and flip-flops and get stuck because the cable car closed and they hadn’t checked the lift schedules”.
It comes after Venice, the floating city of waterways, reintroduced a 5 Euro (£4.28) a day charge for tourists arriving on its busiest days, in a bid to put off some people from visiting.
The official Val Gardena website has named Seceda as a “top photo spot” and the “ideal place to take impressive pictures”, though it details that strict rules apply inside the Puez-Odle Nature Park.
Visitors are asked to respect the natural environment and pitching a tent and camping overnight simply isn’t allowed. Despite this, millions of tourists are still flocking to the area, opting to take the cable car and skip the hike altogether.
Georg Rabanser, who owns land on Seceda, said local farmers rolled out the charge for those crossing private property to prove a point.
In his experience, those visiting more often than not leave rubbish behind despite the strict ruling, leading him to describe the new unofficial policy as a “cry for help”.
He told La Usc: “We expected a call from the provincial authorities. But nothing,” adding that since after they didn’t receive any “warning letters,” they decided to move forward.
Seceda has long been romanticised by its visitors, with one tourist previously describing the view from the top as “like a different planet”.
Over on the r/hiking Subreddit, @MikeRoss95 said it was completely “unreal,” while Italian native @alecro06 acknowledged that while they may be “biased,” they “can’t help but feel like the Dolomites are the most beautiful place in the world.”
On the other hand, in @Joesr-31’s experience, this spot is “filled with people with selfie sticks and DSLR cameras,” while @This_Paper_193 said it’s overly “crowded’ these days.