If Carlo Zanella, president of the Alto Adige Alpine Club, had his way, travel influencers would be banned from the Dolomites.

He attributes the recent Italian social media trend as the cause for drawing hundreds of thousands of tourists to the northern Italian mountain range, with many crossing private land to snap the perfect picture.

In response to the surge of visitors, exasperated local farmers have implemented turnstiles requiring tourists to pay 5 euros ($8.80) to visit several “Instagrammable” locations, including the Seceda and Drei Zinnen (Three Peaks) mountain ranges.

Social media has recently seen images of up to 4000 people lining up daily. Instead of deterring visitors, these pictures have only piqued more interest.

“The media can’t stop talking about the turnstiles, and it’s become a topic of conversation everywhere,” Zanella notes. “People flock to where the crowd is. It’s in our nature to follow.”

Although Italian law ensures free access to natural parks like the Alps and Dolomites, the landowners who installed the turnstiles report no official opposition from authorities to date.

Georg Rabanser, a former snowboarder for the Italian national team and a landowner in a meadow on Seceda, explained to the Ladin-language magazine La Usc that he and others began charging visitors to traverse their land to make a statement.

“So many people come through here every day, everyone goes through our properties and leaves trash,” he says.

“Ours was a cry for help. We expected a call from the provincial authorities. But nothing. We only read statements in the newspapers. Gossip; nothing concrete. We haven’t even received warning letters. So we’re moving forward.”

‘This isn’t what the mountains should be’

Zanella, who says he avoids his once beloved alpine hiking trails during the summer months, supports the landowners charging admission to cross their property. He thinks the government should pay for the upkeep of the entrance system, likening the overtourism to Venice, where visitors have to pay a 10 euro entrance fee entrance fee (around $12) on busy weekends.

“I would increase the price from 5 to 100 euros,” he tells CNN. “And close the accounts of travel influencers.”

Beyond the public nuisance of overcrowding, he fears the naivete of social media tourists puts them at risk.

“Once upon a time, those who came up to the mountains were prepared, dressed for the mountains, and came for hiking. Especially the Germans, who had maps and knew where to go. The Italians, on the other hand, set off, go, and take a cable car,” he says in a statement shared with CNN.

“Now I’ve seen people go up to Seceda with sun umbrellas and flip-flops and get stuck because the cable car closed and they hadn’t checked the lift schedules (…) This isn’t what the mountains should be,” he says.

The local tourism body has petitioned authorities to close the turnstiles, insisting the issue is being overblown. The Santa Cristina Tourist Board, which oversees part of the area where the turnstiles have popped up, says they have hired four park rangers to ensure that tourists stay on the trails, don’t cross the meadows and don’t fly drones.

“Things have improved significantly,” Lukas Demetz, president of the Santa Cristina Tourist Board, said in a statement shared with CNN. “And even the litter problem isn’t as serious as people say. It’s significantly reduced.”

Still, across the Aosta Valley, parking lots have popped up to stop people from driving up the mountainside, and hikers are required to take the paid shuttle bus to Monte Rosa.

At the Pian del Re peat bog in Piedmont, only 150 cars are allowed to park in the closest parking area to discourage visitors. Some regions, including Lake Braies, now charge 40 euros a car to access the area to try to deter people from coming in to take pictures.

Arno Kompatscher, the governor of South Tyrol province, which includes part of the Dolomites range, has called on the national government to set restrictions to protect the fragile alpine ecosystems and dissuade local residents from renting out their chalets to tourists.

New laws to curb bad behaviour

The mountain residents aren’t the only Italians clamping down on badly behaved visitors. Across the country, new ordinances have been a hallmark of the 2025 summer.

Wearing just a swimsuit or going bare-chested in some Italian towns will attract more than a few looks. Semi-nudity could also land you a 500-euro fine — in the name of decorum. The Tuscan island of Elba and the Ligurian city of Diano Marina have both introduced summer ordinances that prohibit shirtless and swimsuit-only strutting — for both men and women — anywhere but the beach.

And if your attire is deemed vulgar or “indecent” in the eyes of any beholder, authorities can levy smaller fines starting at 25 euros.

In Livorno, walking barefoot is prohibited. On Sardinian beaches, you’ll get in trouble for digging holes for umbrellas, smoking, or lying on the sand without a mat. At the ever popular La Pelosa beach area, only 1500 bathers are allowed at a time to prohibit overcrowding.

In San Felice Circeo, a party town south of Rome where having an aperitivo on the beach is a way of life, take-away alcohol is banned both in town and on the beach. Loud music can only be blared during certain hours across much of the country, and in the southern region of Puglia, boaters risk a fine if they play music within 500 meters of the coast.