Rome wants to charge tourists to visit the Trevi Fountain - here’s why

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Good morning from Skift. It’s Wednesday, September 11. and here’s what you need to know about the business of travel today.

For those who have visited Rome’s immensely popular Trevi Fountain, here’s a bit of news that may seen long overdue.Leaders in Rome are contemplating limiting access to the historic fountain, which is not only a baroque masterpiece, but also a magnet for hordes of rank and file travelers, Instagram influencers, TikTokers, and more.The plans being considered would involve visitors making a reservation in advance to visit the fountain, according to a report in The Guardian.“Personally I would be in favour of looking at a new form of access, limited and timed, to the Trevi fountain,” Alessandro Onorato, the city councillor responsible for tourism, told the newspaper Corriere della Sera, per The Guardian.Residents of course, would still be allowed to visit the fountain and do so for free. But everyone else would be required to make a contribution of one to two euros in exchange for the ability to spend time taking in the masterpiece.The goal of the entrance fee is not to raise money, but to use the new system as a mechanism to control the crush of people that surround the fountain from sunup until sundown, and long into the evening.
The new system would also (hopefully) bring an end to such disrespectful behaviors as snacking on pizza and gelato while perched on the fountain.The paid reservation system is merely one of the options the city is considering to protect the historic site.Rome’s mayor, Roberto Gualtieri, said measures to curb tourist numbers were “a very concrete possibility,” adding that a handful of possible solutions are under review.“We’ve decided to study and investigate this because the situation is becoming technically very difficult to manage,” he said. “Local police officers tell us this all the time: there is a concentration of people that makes adequate protection of the monument difficult and is also often a source of degradation.”The discussion surrounding how best to protect the fountain is especially pressing as the city prepares to host the 2025 jubilee, which is a year-long Roman Catholic event that is expected to bring more than 30 million tourists and pilgrims to Rome.But this latest move, which is among a growing number of efforts to curb overtourism around the world, is also prompted by a history of tourists behaving poorly at the fountain.In 2017, for instance, the city rolled out fines for bad behavior at the site after tourists began frolicking in the fountain water. And in 2018, an eight-person fight broke out over, of all things, the perfect selfie spot.

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Rome is looking to clamp down on overcrowding and tourist misbehavior at the Trevi Fountain, one of the world’s most iconic and popular attractions, with a reservation system.

Tourists heading to Rome may have to reserve their visit to the Trevi Fountain as a way to address overtourism ahead of the city's 2025 Jubilee celebration, according to Roman officials.

Want to get away to Europe? Travelers can score one-way flights for as little as 15,000 airline miles with this little-known frequent flier program. 

Tourists may no longer be able to see Rome’s iconic Trevi Fountain whenever they want or for free.

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