There is a case when there are too many tourists in any area, especially in small locations that might not be prepared to receive them. That is the case of what happened at Roccaraso, an Italian ski resort in the Apenine mountains, that is very well loved by Romans and Napolitans.  This past Sunday more than 10 thousand Neapolitan “skiers” descended on Roccaraso, creating an instance for overtourism.

As per the Corriere della Sera, Francesco Di Donato, the mayor of Roccaraso said that he needs an army to be able to control the assault of 10,000 Neapolitans day skiers. There were around 220 buses stopping on the Route Statale 17, that is not under the jurisdiction of the mayor. The buses stopped everywhere causing chaos, and suddenly the small town was having too many visitors for the space available.

Some travel agencies have been promoting the ‘day skiing’ helped with some influencers on TikTok and this brought this quantity of people. The problem with this, explained Di Donato, is that the Roccaraso infrastructure cannot withstand the assaults of those that come only on Sundays. They cannot put thousand chemical toilets in the ski resort. So many people getting nervous and not having patience could risk an accident. He also said that people that come for EUR 30 for one day cannot really afford even a ski pass, when a daily pass costs EUR60.

More info: Corriere della Sera. 

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Featured Image: Roccaraso, photo by Tom Frances Palattao. Unsplash. Overtourism at Roccaraso after 10 thousand Neapolitan “skiers” descended on the ski resort.