A well-known Italian city has experienced a significant decline in hotel and Airbnb bookings, with half of the accommodations remaining unoccupied over the summer, amidst a surge of anti-tourism protests across Europe.
Florence, famous for Michelangelo’s David and the Duomo cathedral, has witnessed a year-on-year decrease in room bookings since May, and local tourism specialists are anticipating a similarly slow August.
Monica Rocchini, the president of a local hoteliers’ association, told local media: ‘We currently have a room occupancy rate of around 50%.’
She added that with so many rooms empty, going rates for these rooms are having to drop as well.
Rocchini noted that June and July experienced a 15-20% decline compared to last year, attributing much of this to Donald Trump’s tariff announcements, which prompted many Americans, a typically high-spending demographic, to cancel their reservations.
She suggested that locals might need to change their perspectives to benefit from tourism revenue: ‘Having tourists doesn’t mean the area becomes touristy, but few locals grasp this.’
This follows incidents a few months back, where anti-tourist demonstrators targeted ski resorts, with Italian locals painting the slogan ‘too much’ in bold red letters on a snowy peak.
The red slogan, which was deliberately placed under a ski lift, appeared at Alpe Di Siusi ski resort in the Dolomites.
Florence, famous for Michelangelo’s sculpture of David and the Duomo cathedral, has experienced a year-on-year decline in room bookings since May (File image of Florence)
Monica Rocchini, the president of a local hoteliers’ association, told local media: ‘We currently have a room occupancy rate of around 50%’ (File image of Florence)
Brigitte Foppa, councillor of the European Greens party, said tourism in the area was ‘a continuous growth’ that has been ‘underestimated for years’.
‘They told us that we were troublemakers…Now we are paying the price, the wound in society has opened’, she warned.
This is not the first time residents have protested against the growing number of tourists in the area.
Last summer, locals painted a preferential lane with the word ‘priority’ in the asphalt, after commuters had raised concerns that the masses of tourists had clogged up access to cable cars, causing them delays.
The Dolomites were compared to Disneyland as the beauty spot became overloaded by swarms of selfie-snapping tourists and so-called influencers.
Images and videos shared on social media shared by furious locals showed crowds of holidaymakers clogging up a cable car station in the Seceda area of the Alpine mountain range, which has become increasingly popular thanks to social media.
One particular video shows a lengthy queue of visitors at the station over-spilling onto a nearby cafe, while some tourists are seen blocking a staircase as they wait in line.
Anti tourists protestors told holidaymakers to go home by writing a slogan on a snow-covered slope in the Dolomites
The demonstration at the Italian mountain resort came after another ski station plunged into chaos after thousands of tourists descended at the same time after snapping up cheap day-trip deals online
Another clip showed how a hiking trail came to a standstill as it became overwhelmed by tourists trying to reach the cable car.
The video, which was shared on an Instagram page, was captioned: ‘Something incredible even just to be told.
‘Hours in line waiting for your turn to go up the Seceda to admire the meadows, ridges, the most beautiful mountains of the Alto Adige, being careful not to step on each other’s feet, not to clash, to take the selfie as ‘freely’ possible in the presence of other tourists.’
