Over-tourism is increasingly being discussed in Italy and not only, along with its harmful consequences on places, landscapes, and cities. Therefore, Demoskopika has experimentally proposed a Comprehensive Tourist Overcrowding Index (Icst), which is based on the combination of five indicators: tourist density, accommodation density, tourist intensity, gross utilization, and the share of urban waste attributable to the tourism sector. This index aims to provide a more accurate understanding of the phenomenon, which, in addition to impacting places, compromises the lives of residents and the tourist experience itself, to promote more sustainable, responsible, and respectful tourism. The interactive map has been published exclusively on its website by ANSA, a major Italian news agency.

Among the most affected provinces—besides the well-known Venice, Florence, Milan, and Rome—are Naples, Verona, Rimini, Livorno, and Bolzano, but also Ravenna, Trieste, La Spezia with the Cinque Terre, Savona, Imperia, Grosseto, Aosta, Forlì-Cesena, Grosseto, and Gorizia. According to the researchers at the institute, these destinations experience significant pressure on local resources, with evident problems in managing tourist flows. Among the destinations starting to suffer from over-tourism are Genoa, Bologna, Pisa, Padua, Siena, Lucca, Monza, Como, Pesaro e Urbino, and then Sassari, due to the Maddalena Archipelago, and Vibo Valentia, for Tropea. “Demoskopika aims to support institutional decision-makers at various levels in monitoring the impact of tourism, providing data and territorial analysis to help balance economic needs with environmental and social sustainability,” stated Raffaele Rio, president of Demoskopika.

Opening image: Leonardo Yip on Unplash.