As Italy prepares to host the Winter Olympics next month, residents of Alpine communities are warning that the surge in visitors will further strain an area already struggling with over-tourism.
The competitions will be held in Milan and in Cortina d’Ampezzo, a city under the protection of UNESCO known as the “Queen of the Dolomites”, as well as in the nearby towns of Predazzo, Tesero and Anterselva.
Local authorities and environmental organizations say the Games will further exacerbate a worrying trend in tourism – the uncontrolled influx of visitors fueled by the viral popularity of natural sites on social media, according to Euronews.
High in the Italian Dolomites, the Seceda mountain trail has become a famous spot for capturing spectacular views of the sharp peaks of the Odle mountain massif.
During the summer, tourists with cameras are a nightmare for the residents of the area in South Tyrol.
This summer, walkers and locals shared photos of the famous Odle trail towards the top of Secedo, where long queues of tourists formed as they waited to snap Instagram photos.
According to reports, last week around 8,000 people passed that path in one day.
Dissatisfaction grew over time, so local landowners decided to take independent measures.
In early July, a group of local farmers set up a toll gate on the Odle trail, protesting the constant influx of tourists who, they claim, do not respect nature and space.
– The paths are neglected, and the meadows are covered with garbage – they stated in the statement.
Although the authorities of the Puez-Odle Nature Park soon removed the control gate, the farmers re-installed it a few days later.
This winter, the renowned Madonna di Campiglio ski resort in the Dolomites became the first in the country to limit the number of visitors.
In a statement, they stated that they will reduce the number of skiers on the slopes by limiting the number of daily ski passes purchased online to only 15,000.
The measure highlights a wider and growing problem of over-tourism, visitor misbehavior and environmental damage in Italy’s sensitive mountain range.
According to research by the Demoskopika Institute, South Tyrol is one of the destinations in Italy most exposed to tourist overcrowding, on a par with Venice, for the second year in a row.
There is a growing concern that the Winter Olympics will further increase interest in the Dolomites during the winter period as well.
Madonna di Campiglio ski resort has introduced a visitor limit that was in effect from 28 December 2025 to 5 January 2026, and will be enforced again during the Italian Carnival (15-22 February 2026).
Although the ski resort does not state that this measure was directly introduced to curb excessive tourism, it was announced that limiting the number of daily ski pass users to an “ideal number” will help improve the skiing experience and the safety of visitors.
Madonna di Campiglio is also developing new “smart ski passes” that will allow skiers to avoid crowded areas during peak season, by “dynamically distributing ski traffic along 150 kilometers of slopes.”
(Vijesti.ba / FENA)
