After more than two years of dreams placed on hold, we are all back
in the travel saddle again heading for lands with undulating hills
embracing tranquil streams not far from whimsical villages where the
locals line the roads welcoming back tourists from the States. It will
all be magical again.
I've read numerous surveys about where Americans want to go, but much
of it is wasted on me. For the most part, everyone wants to go back to
Italy or, perhaps, to explore it for the first time. When we talk about
post-Covid bucket lists, there are the eternal dream destinations, Bali,
Botswana and a remaining ice floe or two in Antarctica.
But we don't have relatives in Antarctica. No one has opened a trendy
restaurant in our neighbourhood featuring Antarctic cuisine. Our movies
and our media are not filled with images of friends and the influencers
we follow sitting stoically in Zodiacs against backgrounds of
nothingness.
No. We'll get to our long-term bucket-list destinations in good time. But for now, we must return to Italy.
But this time it is going to be different, and our clients and
followers must be told that Italy is being challenged as never before.
How will it handle the crowds, the demand and the pressures created when
the art of photography has given way to an amateurish passion for
lousy, self-made photographs?
A photograph is no longer something we might cherish, a lasting image
that stirs the travel soul and produces a minefield of memories.
Instead, tourists take as many shots as possible and think the photos
will be more enticing if the photographer is stuck in the middle of the
layout.
Selfies have become a kind of currency; they show friends and social
media distant acquaintances that you have a life of value. And while
some say they once travelled a certain road, your selfies prove beyond a
shadow of a doubt that you were just there. Imagine that.
So here come the tourist hordes travelling light with water bottles
and an iPhone. They are heading everywhere in Italy, but Portofino is
near the top on many lists. So let's be aware that legislation has been
introduced to assess fines of up to US$270 for selfie-takers who linger
long enough to block traffic or sidewalks along the bay.
In Liguria, there are now fines of up to $2,700 for tourists who
attempt to traverse the walking paths in the five villages of Cinque
Terra clad in flip-flops or sandals. Appropriate hiking shoes must be
worn for hikes; to understand this, you must realise that no Italian
would ever ride their bicycle without a special bike-riding uniform.
In the major centers of Venice and Florence, the Italians have about
had it with "snackers." Within the city centre of Venice you can be
fined for trying to snack on the street or while walking. Florence
enacted similar laws.
How many hours over how many years have I paused on the Spanish Steps
in Rome to add some observations to my journal? But today, I can be
fined $270 just for sitting on those steps.
On some Italian beaches it is now illegal to build a sandcastle. The
fines run up to $270 per offense, and the purpose is to remove
"unnecessary" obstructions on the sand.
Will selfie tourism be stopped? In 2019 Italy received 65 million
visitors, and tourism was about 13% of the country's GDP. Today, in the
historical center of Venice there are an estimated 49,365 residents and
48,596 tourist beds.
Venice may need to be more concerned about drowning in humans than in
water. But as the drowning continues, you can be certain that selfies
will record the event.