Latest news with #DeCrescenzo
CNN
11-02-2025
- Entertainment
- CNN
TikTok ‘hordes' intercepted by police after influencer tells them to ‘invade' ski resort
A war between a TikTok influencer and Italian ski resorts has escalated after she urged her two million followers to 'invade' one destination because she was blamed for causing chaos at another. Buses packed with daytrippers were stopped by police before they could leave Naples on Sunday in answer to the call from Rita De Crescenzo — a TikTok star whose strong Neapolitan accent and outlandish appearance have endeared her to legions of local social media fans. The crowds had been headed to Ovindoli, a small ski town in central Italy, when they were intercepted in an attempt to prevent a repeat of scenes two weeks ago when the nearby resort of Roccaraso was inundated by 10,000 visitors inspired by online posts from De Crescenzo. Skiers, many of whom were not accustomed to the rules of the piste, were accused of leaving mountains of garbage in Roccaraso, barbecuing on the slopes, and making it difficult for regular skiers who have season passes to access the chair lifts. De Crescenzo rejected accusations that she was to blame for the chaos in Roccaraso, telling her followers, who increased by 100,000 after the first incident, that she should get paid for giving the resorts free publicity. She then told them to head to Ovindoli. Capitalizing on the call, several Neapolitan tourism agencies offered tickets to the hills for around $20 including lunch and ski passes. Others, apparently, just provided the transport. Trouble was avoided, however, after police stepped in following warnings from the mayors of Roccaraso and Ovindoli that buses would be turned away, according to authorities in Naples. Neapolitan police said they stopped several buses that were not authorized to enter either of the ski resorts. Two were stopped because of the absence of booked tickets for the resort, meaning no one onboard had ski passes, a spokesperson with the Neapolitan police told CNN. Warm temperatures that melted most of the snow on lower elevations also helped stymie what was set up to be another weekend of TikTok trouble in the mountains. Angelo Ciminelli, the mayor of Ovindoli, said after what happened in Roccaraso two weeks ago, he pre-empted the onslaught. 'We had thought about adopting these measures before the challenge,' he said. 'But we had no choice after she challenged her followers to come here.' The ski areas, in central Italy's Abruzzo region, have always been popular alternatives to traveling north to the Alps or Dolomites, but Angelo Caruso, head of the province, says they had never envisioned that social media would have such an impact. Caruso ordered hundreds of law enforcement officers and called on the Italian army for backup to stand guard at various checkpoints approaching the mountain to turn anyone away who hadn't reserved a ski pass, hotel or who lived there. The TikTok trend, he says, is luring 'hordes' of people who have no real interest in skiing but want to post their own version of the experience on their social channels, which often ruins the experience for ski enthusiasts. Rita De Crescenzo's TikTok fame has also inspired a slew of other Neapolitans to try their hand as influencers. This has also caught the attention of Italy's Guardia di Finanza (financial police), which says it is investigating a number of the tourism agencies who allegedly sold passes and bus tickets without reporting profits to tax authorities. Influencers are also being investigated to see if they also earned a cut without reporting earnings.
Yahoo
11-02-2025
- Entertainment
- Yahoo
TikTok ‘hordes' intercepted by police after influencer tells them to ‘invade' ski resort
A war between a TikTok influencer and Italian ski resorts has escalated after she urged her two million followers to 'invade' one destination because she was blamed for causing chaos at another. Buses packed with daytrippers were stopped by police before they could leave Naples on Sunday in answer to the call from Rita De Crescenzo — a TikTok star whose strong Neapolitan accent and outlandish appearance have endeared her to legions of local social media fans. The crowds had been headed to Ovindoli, a small ski town in central Italy, when they were intercepted in an attempt to prevent a repeat of scenes two weeks ago when the nearby resort of Roccaraso was inundated by 10,000 visitors inspired by online posts from De Crescenzo. Skiers, many of whom were not accustomed to the rules of the piste, were accused of leaving mountains of garbage in Roccaraso, barbecuing on the slopes, and making it difficult for regular skiers who have season passes to access the chair lifts. De Crescenzo rejected accusations that she was to blame for the chaos in Roccaraso, telling her followers, who increased by 100,000 after the first incident, that she should get paid for giving the resorts free publicity. She then told them to head to Ovindoli. Capitalizing on the call, several Neapolitan tourism agencies offered tickets to the hills for around $20 including lunch and ski passes. Others, apparently, just provided the transport. Trouble was avoided, however, after police stepped in following warnings from the mayors of Roccaraso and Ovindoli that buses would be turned away, according to authorities in Naples. Neapolitan police said they stopped several buses that were not authorized to enter either of the ski resorts. Two were stopped because of the absence of booked tickets for the resort, meaning no one onboard had ski passes, a spokesperson with the Neapolitan police told CNN. Warm temperatures that melted most of the snow on lower elevations also helped stymie what was set up to be another weekend of TikTok trouble in the mountains. Angelo Ciminelli, the mayor of Ovindoli, said after what happened in Roccaraso two weeks ago, he pre-empted the onslaught. 'We had thought about adopting these measures before the challenge,' he said. 'But we had no choice after she challenged her followers to come here.' The ski areas, in central Italy's Abruzzo region, have always been popular alternatives to traveling north to the Alps or Dolomites, but Angelo Caruso, head of the province, says they had never envisioned that social media would have such an impact. Caruso ordered hundreds of law enforcement officers and called on the Italian army for backup to stand guard at various checkpoints approaching the mountain to turn anyone away who hadn't reserved a ski pass, hotel or who lived there. The TikTok trend, he says, is luring 'hordes' of people who have no real interest in skiing but want to post their own version of the experience on their social channels, which often ruins the experience for ski enthusiasts. Rita De Crescenzo's TikTok fame has also inspired a slew of other Neapolitans to try their hand as influencers. This has also caught the attention of Italy's Guardia di Finanza (financial police), which says it is investigating a number of the tourism agencies who allegedly sold passes and bus tickets without reporting profits to tax authorities. Influencers are also being investigated to see if they also earned a cut without reporting earnings.
CNN
11-02-2025
- Entertainment
- CNN
TikTok ‘hordes' intercepted by police after influencer tells them to ‘invade' ski resort
A war between a TikTok influencer and Italian ski resorts has escalated after she urged her two million followers to 'invade' one destination because she was blamed for causing chaos at another. Buses packed with daytrippers were stopped by police before they could leave Naples on Sunday in answer to the call from Rita De Crescenzo — a TikTok star whose strong Neapolitan accent and outlandish appearance have endeared her to legions of local social media fans. The crowds had been headed to Ovindoli, a small ski town in central Italy, when they were intercepted in an attempt to prevent a repeat of scenes two weeks ago when the nearby resort of Roccaraso was inundated by 10,000 visitors inspired by online posts from De Crescenzo. Skiers, many of whom were not accustomed to the rules of the piste, were accused of leaving mountains of garbage in Roccaraso, barbecuing on the slopes, and making it difficult for regular skiers who have season passes to access the chair lifts. De Crescenzo rejected accusations that she was to blame for the chaos in Roccaraso, telling her followers, who increased by 100,000 after the first incident, that she should get paid for giving the resorts free publicity. She then told them to head to Ovindoli. Capitalizing on the call, several Neapolitan tourism agencies offered tickets to the hills for around $20 including lunch and ski passes. Others, apparently, just provided the transport. Trouble was avoided, however, after police stepped in following warnings from the mayors of Roccaraso and Ovindoli that buses would be turned away, according to authorities in Naples. Neapolitan police said they stopped several buses that were not authorized to enter either of the ski resorts. Two were stopped because of the absence of booked tickets for the resort, meaning no one onboard had ski passes, a spokesperson with the Neapolitan police told CNN. Warm temperatures that melted most of the snow on lower elevations also helped stymie what was set up to be another weekend of TikTok trouble in the mountains. Angelo Ciminelli, the mayor of Ovindoli, said after what happened in Roccaraso two weeks ago, he pre-empted the onslaught. 'We had thought about adopting these measures before the challenge,' he said. 'But we had no choice after she challenged her followers to come here.' The ski areas, in central Italy's Abruzzo region, have always been popular alternatives to traveling north to the Alps or Dolomites, but Angelo Caruso, head of the province, says they had never envisioned that social media would have such an impact. Caruso ordered hundreds of law enforcement officers and called on the Italian army for backup to stand guard at various checkpoints approaching the mountain to turn anyone away who hadn't reserved a ski pass, hotel or who lived there. The TikTok trend, he says, is luring 'hordes' of people who have no real interest in skiing but want to post their own version of the experience on their social channels, which often ruins the experience for ski enthusiasts. Rita De Crescenzo's TikTok fame has also inspired a slew of other Neapolitans to try their hand as influencers. This has also caught the attention of Italy's Guardia di Finanza (financial police), which says it is investigating a number of the tourism agencies who allegedly sold passes and bus tickets without reporting profits to tax authorities. Influencers are also being investigated to see if they also earned a cut without reporting earnings.
Yahoo
04-02-2025
- Yahoo
Top ski resort becomes ‘hellish' new flash point in overtourism trend: ‘A real assault'
Trends travel fast on TikTok — and not always for the better. One of Italy's most popular skiing destinations has been overrun by TikTok tourists following in the footsteps of their favorite influencers. Viral influencer posts about Roccaraso, a top ski destination in central Italy, led 10,000 day-trippers to invade the resort last week, causing chaos on the slopes, traffic jams and accusations of bad behavior, CNN reported. After viral posts of snowfall at the location, tour companies in the city of Naples began to organize cheap tour buses for residents to spend a day in the mountains. Alongside an influx of cars full of visitors, 220 tour buses made a two-hour, 78-mile trip to Roccaraso, which infuriated the 1,500 local residents and ended up blocking the narrow resort roads. Visitors paid $20 for the trip, which included a sandwich, and were allegedly ignoring proper ski etiquette and sliding down on makeshift sleds made out of things such as saucepans. Some social media videos revealed visitors lighting barbecues and leaving trash in their wake. Local media is blaming one TikTokker: Rita De Crescenzo, a popular influencer from Naples. She had posted a series of videos on TikTok and other social media platforms telling people that they should come see the snow at Roccaraso. Tour companies and organizers quickly took advantage of the posts, offering deals for the ultimate tourist experience. Municipalities around Roccaraso were prompted to enforce emergency crowd control measures in the aftermath, including limiting tour bus access. In a video response, De Crescenzo said it wasn't her fault that the tour buses were blocking the roads and angering locals. 'I made such a beautiful advertisement for Roccaraso where I was on Monday and Tuesday and the crowd went crazy because I put up wonderful videos,' she said in the post. Roccaraso Mayor Francesco Di Donato told CNN that the tour buses were 'a real assault' on the area, which made the situation 'hellish,' especially for residents who have homes around the resort or guests who have season passes. 'Go to Roccaraso for 15 euros without a receipt? Throw your garbage in the snow? What are we talking about?' Francesco Emilio Borrelli, a Green Party politician from Naples, said in a Facebook video. 'People who have passes and follow the rules were made to wait three hours in their cars for these people who didn't have permission or passes to be there. Not in my name as a Neapolitan,' he added. Though some visitors clapped back on social media, alleging that locals were discriminating against them because they're not from Naples, Di Donato said that their city of origin had nothing to do with the overtourism issue. 'Roccaraso welcomes and wants to welcome more and more tourists, but civil and correct skiers,' he said. 'The Roccaraso system is unable to contain the assault of those who come only on Sundays. We cannot put a thousand chemical bathrooms in a ski resort.' 'I am on the street, these people do not have patience, they get nervous, they don't give a damn about the machines that come. Sooner or later you risk the accident. I say it firmly: they have to face this phenomenon as if it were a soccer match,' the mayor said. On a regular two-day winter weekend, the resort typically sees about 20,000 skiers and an additional 15,000 who sled and trek — but the added 10,000 visitors last week added a security concern for the resort.
Local Italy
31-01-2025
- Local Italy
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.
