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High in the Italian Dolomites, a hiking trail on Seceda mountain has become a renowned place for taking dramatic shots of the spiky Odle Peaks.<\/p>\n
But its growing fame on social media is becoming a nightmare for residents of the area in South Tyrol.<\/p>\n
This summer, walkers and locals have been sharing images of the route jammed with queues of tourists waiting to take Instagram-worthy snaps.<\/p>\n
Some 8,000 people reportedly walked the path on a single day last week.<\/p>\n
Frustrations have grown to the point that local landowners have decided to take independent action and install a turnstile at the beginning of a trail.<\/p>\n
The move has been controversial, but it is highlighting a wider, growing issue of overtourism, poor visitor behaviour, and environmental damage in Italy\u2019s mountains.<\/p>\n
At the beginning of July, a group of local farmers set up a turnstile with a toll on the Odle trail to protest against the constant passage of tourists who, they say, disrespect<\/strong><\/a> the area.<\/p>\n “The trails are abandoned and the meadows are full of rubbish,” they said in a statement.<\/p>\n The turnstile was quickly deactivated by the Puez-Odle Nature Park authorities. However, in recent days, the system has been reinstated.<\/p>\n The landowners said in a statement that the initial installation of the turnstile was primarily intended as a provocation – or a \u2018cry for help\u2019 as local newspaper Il Dolomiti describes it.<\/p>\n However, since receiving no contact from \u201cpolitical representatives, associations, or organisations”, they chose to reactivate the system.<\/p>\n Anyone who wishes to hike along the route is asked to pay a \u20ac5 fee<\/strong><\/a> – children and residents excluded. There is a person present to take payments, which can be made by cash or card.<\/p>\n The landowners say they have been obliged to charge a toll to compensate for the damage to their land and to fund their upkeep of the slopes.<\/p>\n Local tourism associations and mountain guides have weighed in on the debate, with many denouncing the landowners\u2019 move.<\/p>\n “If from one day to the next every landowner imposed a toll, what would happen?” Tullio Mussner, president of the Lia da Mont association, told local news outlet L’Altramontagna.<\/p>\n There are reportedly now staff members of the tourism<\/strong><\/a> association Dolomites Val Gardena posted at the turnstile to inform visitors that it is not mandatory to pay the requested fee.<\/p>\n Related<\/b><\/p>\n They also direct hikers to an alternative, slightly longer route that bypasses the gate and still reaches the famous panoramic viewpoint of the Odle Peaks.<\/p>\n The organisation is reportedly preparing an information sign to be placed next to the turnstile, clarifying that it is a private initiative and indicating the way to the alternative route.<\/p>\n Others, including local residents, say the provocative move by landowners has been useful.<\/p>\n Carlo Alberto Zanella, president of the South Tyrolean branch of the national hiking association Club Alpino Italia (CIA), told local newspaper Salto, \u201cit serves to bring a real problem to public attention.\u201d<\/p>\n He said visitors walk through or cycle across the meadows bordering the trail, spoiling the fields and their crops before the farmers can harvest.<\/p>\n \u201cYou need education about how to respect the environment<\/strong><\/a>. That\u2019s the point.\u201d<\/p>\n Local tourism groups also acknowledge that overcrowding<\/strong><\/a> is partly due to a lack of regulation by provincial authorities.<\/p>\n Mussner called for local farmers to be financially compensated for summer tourism, as is done in winter for owners of land crossed by ski slopes.<\/p>\n This is particularly urgent given the booming interest in mountain destinations amid boiling European summers.<\/p>\n According to research by the Demoskopika Institute, for the second consecutive year, South Tyrol is one of the destinations in Italy most exposed to tourist overcrowding<\/strong><\/a>, on a par with Venice.<\/p>\n Some say the culprit of this area\u2019s popularity is the technology company Apple.<\/p>\n It used a photograph of the Seceda mountain as the official wallpaper for its iOS 7 operating system a decade ago.<\/p>\n Two years ago, it featured the Seceda again in a short promotional video during the iPhone 15 launch event.<\/p>\n Related<\/b><\/p>\n Local groups say the result of that involuntary publicity was a huge increase in visitors, often driven by the desire to just take a few photos of the views and then leave.<\/p>\n They also say that the cable car from Ortisei that takes passengers to the summit is exacerbating the problem.<\/p>\n The route has also seen intense overcrowding, with local guides warning visitors<\/strong><\/a> to arrive early in the morning to avoid the lengthy queues.<\/p>\n Some tourism and environmental groups are now calling for a price increase in summer or even its complete closure in peak season to prevent the unsustainable influx of visitors.<\/p>\n The company that operates the cable car has instead proposed tripling its capacity amid much controversy and fears of stoking the overtourism problem.<\/p>\n<\/div>\nMountain associations denounce the turnstile<\/h2>\n
Greater regulation of tourism is needed in the Dolomites<\/h2>\n
Is Apple to blame for the Seceda mountain\u2019s popularity?<\/h2>\n