Italian ski resort cracks down on day-trippers after being overrun by crowds
Day visitors were reportedly lured to the Abruzzo town by Naples-born TikTok star Rita De Crescenzo, who posted live footage of the resort to her 1.7 million followers, as well as by travel agencies offering cheap travel deals.
The influx of tourists clogged the road leading up to the resort and overcrowded its ski slopes, sparking anger among many of the town's 1,500 local residents.
Roccaraso Mayor Francesco Di Donato said the resort was no stranger to busy weekends, but it had never experienced an influx akin to last Sunday's.
'This was a real assault and the situation became unmanageable,' he said.
Following Sunday's events, Di Donato issued an ordinance capping the number of tourist buses that can enter the town on Saturdays and Sundays to 100, while also requiring bus operators to pre-book their trips online.
Under the ordinance, police checkpoints will be set up on the state road leading to Roccaraso on weekends, with around 100 officers set to be deployed on the ground to ensure the new rules are respected.
Earlier this week, Neapolitan TikToker De Crescenzo denied responsibility for the overcrowding.
'People are free to move as they want and I cannot be responsible for the behaviour of others. I published content that reached a huge audience, which makes me proud,' she told Italian newspaper Il Messaggero.
De Crescenzo also pledged to return to Roccaraso this Sunday – this time with even more people.
'I will be back on Sunday and you will see that, thanks to my videos, even more people will come than last weekend,' she said.
Major Italian tourist destinations such as Venice, Florence and Rome have long grappled with overtourism during peak travel season.
But less renowned destinations around the peninsula have also been visited by record numbers of tourists in recent months, with experts attributing the phenomenon to growing social media exposure.
Last year, TikTok influencers prompted a visitor boom at the Chiesa di Sant'Ignazio di Loyola in Rome.
The 17th-century church features a mirror which is exceedingly popular with selfie-takers, with dozens of people queuing to snap a photo on busy days.
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