Plan to cap number of Pompeii visitors at 20,000 a day to stop overtourism
Pompeii’s site managers are reportedly set to bring in measures to limit the number of tourists who can visit the historic city due to overcrowding.
The archaeological park will look to cap the number of visitors at 20,000 a day, with all visitors being made to give their full details - according to Sky.
It comes as the number of people visiting the free site topped 36,000 last month, a new record crowd that has led to complaints of overtourism.
And in 2023 Pompeii also welcomed more than four million - to mark a 33 per cent rise in numbers from 2022.
Despite the rising number of tourists, archeologists are making new discoveries about the site which was partly destroyed in 79AD in the eruption of Mount Vesuvius.
Just last week it was seen that some of the people who were buried may have been misidentified.
By using DNA extracted from broken bone fragments scientists deduced that an adult cradling an infant and sporting a golden bracelet – long assumed to be the mother – was actually a man who had nothing to do with the child.
While history is being rewritten (says the Standard podcast) there are also changes afoot to the present day Pompeii - which is a monument to the first century city.
The park's director Gabriel Zuchtriegel told Sky: "We are working on a series of projects to lift the human pressure on the site, which could pose risks both for visitors and the heritage (that is) so unique and fragile.”
The changes are set to kick in on November 15 along with measures to try and attract visitors to other ancient sites in the area.
Mr Zuchtriegel added: "The measures to manage flows and safety and the personalisation of the visits are part of this strategy.
"We are aiming for slow, sustainable, pleasant and non-mass tourism and above all widespread throughout the territory around the UNESCO site, which is full of cultural jewels to discover."