From Capri the call for a law to curb overtourism

"We need an ad hoc law for flow management, security, health. It is a proposal that we are launching to the government that would bring together Capri and all the renowned resorts that suffer from hyper-tourism". This is the appeal that the Mayor of Capri, Paolo Falco, launched during the event "Capri: Rules and Choices for the Tourism of the Future": "We will ask the Minister Daniela Santanchè _ he said _ to be received, together with the other mayors".

For Mayor Falco, '12,000 people pour into Capri in just over three hours, we need to think about regulation. We must guarantee the rights of resident citizens as well". The mayor of Capri emphasised: "From Capri we are launching a battle of democracy that will allow the mayors of certain tourist resorts to intervene in the future of those resorts. As mayors, we have a responsibility to safeguard the rights of our fellow citizens, but also that of the tourists in our resorts, which are universally recognised as a world heritage site'. He spoke of the need to govern the flow of tourists and regulate the phenomenon of non-hotel accommodation and short-term rentals, giving greater powers and spending capacity for the security of the territories.

At the event promoted by the Municipality of Capri, the Minister of Tourism, Daniela Santanchè, spoke by videoconference, announcing that the issue of overtourism will be on the discussion table during the G7 tourism meeting in November: 'Against overtourism we need more resources for Italy's lesser-known beautiful places, but I am against more powers for mayors. We want to understand their experiences and how artificial intelligence can help us in certain flow processes. I am convinced that our cultural and natural heritage has not really been put to use'.

'Giving more power to mayors is not the solution to the problem _ continued the minister _ . There is already a lack of uniformity of rules throughout the country, from region to region there are different rules. We must also work together with trade associations and Anci, open tables with the Minister of Transport. We are aware that there are areas where citizens see tourism as a threat, services such as security, urban decorum, and waste suffer. More resources are needed to support these municipalities, through the tourist tax'. Among the proposals being studied,' Minister Daniela Santanchè concluded, 'there is also the allocation of "resources to make known the many other beautiful places in Italy that are less frequented.

To combat overtourism, Santanchè added: 'the answer is deseasonalisation, I am against tickets to enter cities. Tourism is everyone's right'. The ticket to enter the city may be useful for the municipality's coffers, but not to regulate the flow of tourists - according to Santanchè - 'The experiments made abroad, such as in Greece with the closure of Santorini, do not work,' she stressed. 'Tourism must be for everyone, we cannot close our territories to leave them the prerogative of the few.