Pompeii caps tourists to 20,000 a day

The Pompeii archaeological park has made a huge call about tourists who can visit the world-famous Italian site.

The Pompeii archaeological park has capped the number of tourists who can visit the world-famous Italian site.

As of next week, no more than 20,000 people a day can visit Pompeii in a bid combat over-tourism.

There will also be personalised tickets containing visitors’ full names from November 15, officials have said.

There is a cap on how many people can visit the world-famous Italian site of Pompeii.

A maximum of 20,000 tickets will be released each day, with different timeslots during the peak summer season.

The cap comes after a record of more than 36,000 people in one day on a free-admission Sunday last month, Sky News reported.

Pompei, numeri record: l’obiettivo ora è una fruizione più “slow” e uno sviluppo sostenibile in tutto il territorio 🍀🌞 https://t.co/L0PlT6pHOH

— Gabriel Zuchtriegel (@GZuchtriegel) October 6, 2024

The park’s director Gabriel Zuchtriegel said visitors to the main archaeological site now exceed an average of 15,000 to 20,000 every day, and the new daily cap will prevent the numbers from surging further.

“We are working on a series of projects to lift the human pressure on the site, which could pose risks both for visitors and the heritage (that is) so unique and fragile,” Mr Zuchtriegel said.

It’s been capped to 20,000 tourists a day.

There’s also a push to attract tourists to other ancient sites connected to Pompeii with a free bus shuttle.

“The measures to manage flows and safety and the personalisation of the visits are part of this strategy,” Mr Zuchtriegel said, according to Sky News.

“We are aiming for slow, sustainable, pleasant and non-mass tourism and above all widespread throughout the territory around the UNESCO site, which is full of cultural jewels to discover.”

The ancient Roman city in southern Italy was buried under ash and rock following the eruption of Mount Vesuvius in 79 AD.

Meanwhile, Venice is now charging tourists $8 to enter the city, making it the first city in the world charge visitors an entrance fee in a bid to tackle mass tourism.

Visitors required to buy a five-euro ($8.20) ticket, enforced by spot checks at key points of entry into the UNESCO World Heritage site.

If tourists don’t pre-register to obtain a QR code, they will cop a hefty fine of up to $450. There are some exceptions, though, such as if you’re staying overnight in a hotel as those people already pay a tourist tax. However they too will have to register their presence to request an exemption to the fee.