On its 2,500th anniversary, Naples grapples with the benefits and burdens of a tourism boom

Yahoo

14 hours ago

When I visited Naples almost a decade ago, guidebooks, hoteliers, and well-meaning locals all warned me of the foolhardiness of being a lone foreign woman in the city.
Most adamantly, they urged me not to set foot in the Quartieri Spagnoli, a neighbourhood then notorious for crime and violence.
Fast forward to 2025, the 2,500th anniversary of the city's founding, and Naples' metamorphosis is hard to keep up with. When I asked my taxi driver for recommendations for where to eat that evening, his first suggestion was 'anywhere in the Quartieri Spagnoli'.
Over the last decade, the endeavours of tourists to discover 'authentic' areas and the entrepreneurship of residents have aided the opening up of the quarter. It is representative of what is happening all over the city, with both positive and negative knock-on effects.
2,500 years after its birth, Naples is revelling in a tourism boom while simultaneously experiencing accelerated downsides that most cities learn decades later.
Naples' moment in the spotlight is long deserved. As the city is justly celebrating, it is a palimpsest of 2,500 years of history that comes together in a heady, alluring, theatrical concoction.
Within the grid plan centro storico - the city's historic centre - alone, 2nd-century catacombs lie beneath your feet as you walk shaded alleys lined with decadent 16th-century palazzos. Heavy stone-carved churches hide 4th-century mosaics and 17th-century Caravaggio paintings.
Throughout the year, there are various events to celebrate the anniversary. The lavishly gilded 18th-century Teatro San Carlo has a rich programme of performances.
A new section of the prestigious Archaeological Museum of Naples (MANN) opens in early June, and the Museo di Capodimonte will inaugurate a new exhibition space dedicated to porcelain in November.
Guidebook descriptions of Naples have condemned the city to be forever associated with the adjective 'gritty'.
It's true that, where destinations like the Tuscany countryside, the Amalfi Coast and Cinque Terre are curated to the point of becoming spurious, Naples delivers authenticity in droves.
But 'gritty' has also been a euphemistic way to nod to Naples' long-standing problems with waste management and crime.
The city is now working hard to address these problems. Last year, the council announced new strategies for keeping the streets clean.
'We announce the arrival of important news for the improvement of collection services,' the director of Naples' waste management services ASIA Napoli said.
'Among these are a new website, the updating of communication services with citizens, and the progressive installation of technological infrastructures for waste disposal and collection monitoring in the city.'
Crime rates are also decreasing, with thefts down 6 per cent in 2024 compared to 2023 and robberies down 17.75 per cent.
Coupled with the city's clean up is a change in the kind of tourism it's welcoming.
From the Krug-branded rooftop terrace of the five-star Romeo Hotel Napoli, champagne-sipping guests have a sweeping view of the bay of Naples, shadowy Mount Vesuvius, and the day's cruise ship arrivals.
In summer, an average of three liners dock in the city a day, disgorging tens of thousands of tourists into its streets.
But unlike Venice or Santorini, Naples' size can more easily digest the influx, and even benefit from it. According to my taxi driver, cruise passengers are a big earner for private transport companies, tour groups and souvenir shops.
Another relatively new market for Naples is the luxury traveller. Currently, there are only a handful of five-star hotels in the city, compared to over 50 in Rome and nearly the same number in Florence.
But several more big chain openings are in the pipeline, including a Radisson, a Roccoforte and a Marriott.
Romeo Hotel seems to have foreseen this emerging market. Opened in 2008, its cutting-edge glass and steel structure, packed with avant-garde artworks from the owner's collection, still feels very on trend.
The hotel is now upgrading its amenities to cater for the developing luxury market, with a vast Sisley Paris spa, a cigar room, an infinity pool with glass sides, and a haute-cuisine Alain Ducasse-inspired restaurant.
The improvements have proved popular. The property now sees many more international guests and recently hosted footballer Scott McTominay and family during his championship final (and win) for the city's Serie A club Napoli.
Tourist arrivals have been increasing in Naples (up 15 per cent from 2023 to 2024), and the visitors are becoming more diverse.
'We've definitely seen a wider mix of nationalities,' says Inès Sellami, owner of the art gallery-cum-guesthouse Atelier Inès.
'A few years ago, it was mostly Italians, Germans, and maybe the occasional French couple. Now we get Americans, Brits, Koreans, Australians, even solo travellers from South America or India.'
'Now people are coming for Naples. It's still not a polished city, but I think that's part of the appeal.'
Visitors are also taking more time to see the city. 'People used to come for just one or two nights. Now they're staying 4 or 5 nights, using Naples as a base but also diving deeper into the city itself,' says Sellami.
'More guests are interested in local art, cooking experiences, and the stories behind things, not just ticking off monuments.'
The tourism boom has been a boon in some ways. 'It's brought a lot of energy and opportunities. Some areas that were run-down have new life now, new cafés, art spaces, boutique hotels, young people opening businesses,' explains Sellami.
'It's created work, especially for younger generations who wanted to stay in Naples but didn't see a future here. And there's a new sense of pride, locals see that visitors appreciate our traditions, our food, our creativity.'
However, the city council needs to get a firm grip on the situation to halt the already pervasive adverse effects the tourism influx is having.
Rising visitor numbers are fuelling growth in the short-term rental market, which in turn has sparked a housing crisis similar to those experienced by hotspot destinations like the Canary Islands and Barcelona.
A study from 2023 found that platform-mediated short-term rentals are displacing low-income inhabitants from the historic centre of Naples.
It said that Airbnb listings between 2015 and 2019 in Naples increased by 553 per cent, and they are concentrated in the neighbourhoods suffering the highest economic hardship.
According to Tourism Review, renting an apartment in the historic centre cost between €550 and €600 ten years ago. Today, those prices range from €1,200 to €1,400, effectively doubling in a decade.
This is a particularly worrying trend because, despite increased job opportunities from tourism, wages are not seeing a substantial increase. The city has one of the highest rates of youth unemployment in Italy at 43 per cent.
For Sellami, a crucial strategy for easing the strain of tourism is to spread it out more and encourage visitors to explore beyond the usual spots.
Instagram and TikTok's tunnel vision view of the city - Diego Maradona murals, pizzerie and seaview spritz - means visitors crowd the centro storico and waterside Lungomare.
'There are amazing neighbourhoods that still don't see many tourists,' she says.
She also suggests that better transport connections and clearer signage would help, too, especially in English.
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'Most of all, I think we should focus on quality tourism, people who come with curiosity and respect,' she adds. 'If we welcome them properly and share the real Naples, everyone benefits.'
The onus is on the tourists themselves, too. Sellami says it is not unusual to find visitors who treat the city like a theme park, making loud noise at night and disrespecting churches or monuments. A common theme in overtourism complaints across Europe.
But in general, she is optimistic about the city's development.
'It's been quite a transformation,' she says. 'Now people are coming for Naples, they're discovering the food, the art, the raw beauty of the city. It's still not a polished city, but I think that's part of the appeal.'