Famous European landmark wages new war against tourists

By Lauran O'Toole, News Reporter

Pompeii is hoping to further reduce the number of tourists (Image: Getty)

A  famous ancient city looks set to embark on an unpopular mission by further reducing the number of tourists visiting a famous European landmark. Last year Pompeii, a vast archaeological site in southern Italy’s Campania region, decided to restrict tourist numbers to 20,000 per day and introduce personalised tickets in a bid to combat overtourism and protect the world heritage site.

Pompeii was buried by volcanic ash during the eruption of Mount Vesuvius in 79 AD and its archaeological ruins cover around 440,000 square meters. Last summer, the ancient Roman city saw a record four million people visit its remains, up 33.6% year-on-year. And now it looks like Pompeii is to go one step further by changing the type of tourists they want to visit.

Pompeii saw a record four million people visit last summer (Image: Getty)

Gabriel Zuchtriegel, the director of Pompeii, hopes this year that fewer tourists will come to Via di Nola, one of the two main east-western running thoroughfares of the town.

The park's director, who has been in place for four years, wants to attract holidaymakers who will visit and have longer, deeper experiences by exploring other parts of the city rather than those descending off cruise ships.

He told The Telegraph: “It is better to have someone here staying three days and visiting the other sites than three people coming only for half a day. It’s not sustainable.

“This is also my approach in teaching art history: it’s better to pause over one thing for three hours than look at 10 paintings at the same time. Because then you understand something that you can apply to everything.”

The director of Pompeii wishes to change the type of tourist that visits the ancient city (Image: Getty)

In his new book, The Buried City: Unearthing the Real Pompeii, Mr Zuchtriegel expresses his wish to focus more attention on rural sites outside the bustling Pompeii.

Mr Zuchtriegel believes by people visiting other sites “around Pompeii it might help people lower the pressure on the site”.

In a bid to attract tourists to other ancient sites connected to Pompeii the city is offering a free shuttle bus under the Greater Pompeii project, including Stabia, Torre Annunziata and Boscoreale sites.

A record high 36,000 tourists visited the site on the first Sunday of October, when entry was free.

On the first Sunday of every month, entrance to Italian museums is free - otherwise, tickets start from €18 (£14.90).