‘This isn’t what the mountains should be’ tripscan top

Zanella, who says he avoids his once beloved alpine hiking trails during the summer months, supports the landowners charging admission to cross their property. He thinks the government should pay for the upkeep of the entrance system, likening the overtourism to Venice, where visitors have to pay a 10-euro entrance fee (around $12) on busy weekends.

“I would increase the price from 5 to 100 euros,” he tells CNN. “And close the accounts of travel influencers.”

Beyond the public nuisance of overcrowding, he fears the naivete of social media tourists puts them at risk.

“Once upon a time, those who came up to the mountains were prepared, dressed for the mountains, and came for hiking. Especially the Germans, who had maps and knew where to go. The Italians, on the other hand, set off, go, and take a cable car,” he says in a statement shared with CNN. “Now I’ve seen people go up to Seceda with sun umbrellas and flip-flops and get stuck because the cable car closed and they hadn’t checked the lift schedules (…) This isn’t what the mountains should be,” he says.

The local tourism body has petitioned authorities to close the turnstiles, insisting the issue is being overblown. The Santa Cristina Tourist Board, which oversees part of the area where the turnstiles have popped up, says they have hired four park rangers to ensure that tourists stay on the trails, don’t cross the meadows and don’t fly drones.

“Things have improved significantly,” Lukas Demetz, president of the Santa Cristina Tourist Board, said in a statement shared with CNN. “And even the litter problem isn’t as serious as people say. It’s significantly reduced.”

Still, across the Aosta Valley, parking lots have popped up to stop people from driving up the mountainside, and hikers are required to take the paid shuttle bus to Monte Rosa. At the Pian del Re peat bog in Piedmont, only 150 cars are allowed to park in the closest parking area to discourage visitors. Some regions, including Lake Braies, now charge 40 euros a car to access the area to try to deter people from coming in to take pictures. Arno Kompatscher, the governor of South Tyrol province, which includes part of the Dolomites range, has called on the national government to set restrictions to protect the fragile alpine ecosystems and dissuade local residents from renting out their chalets to tourists.