It cannot be said that Italy is not trying with all its strength to fight against mass tourism. First they were higher ratesthen Input rates That, by the way, they went out so well that folded them. Then they attacked directly to the groups of 26 people (or more) and fertilized one of the symbols of the new times: Keyboxes To make auto check-in.
The latest: chase the dogs of the hordes.
Record the best friends. In the alpine city of Bolzanoentrance door To the dolomites And fate increasingly pressured by mass tourism, the City Council has decided to transfer the invoice of the cleaning and maintenance overrun to an unexpected group: The dogs.
From 2026, visitors traveling with their pets must pay a Daily rate of 1.50 euroswhile residents will pay an annual tax of 100 euros per animal. The plan, driven after the implementation of a canine DNA record aimed at identifying owners who do not collect excrement, aims to finance exclusive green areas for dogs and reduce the impact of their waste on public roads.
Controversial measure. The promoter of the measure, the provincial counselor Luis Walcher, argues That cleaning should not fall on the entire community when, in their words, “the only dirt of our streets is that of dogs.” However, associations such as ENPA They denounce That the rate makes animals “taxpayers”, punishes both families and responsible tourists and transmits an opposite message to the hospitality culture that characterizes the region.
After the failed project of canine DNAThey point out that the Administration opts again for punitive solutions instead of strengthening civic education and effective control.
Other measures in Italy. We have gone counting. The Bolzano initiative joins a Restriction series increasingly common in Italy, where mass tourism He has stressed cities and Natural enclaves. Venice, for example, became the first major city of the world to apply An access ticket Diario for single -day visitors, with the aim of decongesting the historic center and raising funds for municipal services.
In Florence, the opening of New tourist rentals In its old town, declared a World Heritage, to stop the expulsion of residents. Cities Like Rome and Milan have hardened the rules of coexistence for tourists, with fines for bathing in historical sources or drag bags with wheels on archaeological areas. On the coast of Sardinia, limits have even been introduced to access to beaches Fragiles like the hairs or Cala Goloritzé, with daily quotas and sanctions to whom you take sand of souvenir.
Tourism, coexistence and perverse effect. The measure arrives in a context in which other tourist cities of all of Europe they have opted to tax To visitors to contain The impact of tourism massive in its urban fabric. In Bolzano, however, the decision opens A singular debate: Is it legitimate to transfer animals, an inseparable part of many traveling families, the label of “responsible” for the deterioration of public space?
Who criticize the measure alert that, far from improving coexistence, It can discourage a respectful tourism and even foster abandonments. The case thus becomes a mirror of the tensions that are going through European tourism: between preserving the quality of life of residents, sustaining the attraction of destinations and not breaking the delicate confidence link with whom they visit themaccompanied (or not) by their dogs.
Image | Dusan Ristic
In Xataka | Italy Veta One of the great symbols of mass tourism: the use of keys to make auto check-in is prohibited
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