Italian beaches booked until September as tourism weighs on beauty spots

Picturesque Italian regions struggling to deal with an onslaught of tourists have resorted to booking systems for their limited beach space, but with demand so high, some are fully booked until the middle of September.

Italy has seen a tourist boom since the pandemic, but many of the most popular destinations are small historical towns with stunning scenes that do not have the infrastructure to support the new wave of visitors.

The beauty of the beaches has also led to one of their biggest weaknesses: many of them are tucked into cracks in coves or are on small spits of land jutting out from the cliff, meaning they may be great for a picture, but they’re severely limited in space.

In Sardinia, the UNESCO-protected Cala Goloritze beach has implemented a booking system, where people can reserve spots on the beach for groups of up to four people.

Controlling Italian beaches has become big buisness. / Credit: AP

The beach is a small spit of land in a cove off the east coast of the Mediterranean island, but with limited space, eager tourists may be disappointed to learn it is fully booked until September 13 just as the tourist season in Italy comes to an end.

Sardina has become particularly fond of the tactic, with the Cala Mariolu beach having a similar system, and only 700 people are allowed on the beach at one time.

Cala dei Gabbiani, also on the east coast of the island, limits visitors to just an hour and a half per slot as they seek to control tourist numbers.

Some local authorities have reserved part of the beach for short-term bookings, up to three days in advance, but these are snapped up fast.

Authorities in Liguria and Sicily have also adopted similar booking systems.

The number of tourists visiting Italy’s beaches has also increased pressure on the local environment, with coveted white beaches seeing their stock of sand slowly depleted as people kick it up when placing towels.

Italy has become well-versed in dealing with high tourist numbers in recent years and has implemented numerous policies to control the crowds.

In February, authorities in Rome started charging two euros to see the Trevi Fountain, which was previously easily accessible while walking the streets of the capital.

The Italian government also banned cruise ships from entering the historic centre of Venice in 2021 amid concerns that the famous city was being destroyed by overtourism.

Italy also has a tourist tax, which ranges from one euro to 10 euros a day, depending on the quality of the accommodation people stay in.