Anti-tourist protesters are now targeting ski resorts after Italian locals branded the words ‘too much’ in bright red letters atop a snowy mountain.
The red slogan, which was deliberately placed under a ski lift, appeared at Alpe Di Siusi ski resort in the Dolomites on Monday night.
The graffiti is the latest move made by angry locals who have been growing increasingly impatient over the masses of tourists hitting the slopes during the peak winter season.
Brigitte Foppa, councillor of the European Greens party, said tourism in the area was ‘a continuous growth’ that has been ‘underestimated for years’.
‘They told us that we were troublemakers…Now we are paying the price, the wound in society has opened’, she warned.
This is not the first time residents have protested against the growing number of tourists in the area.
Over the summer, locals painted a preferential lane with the word ‘priority’ in the asphalt, after commuters had raised concerns that the masses of tourists had clogged up access to cable cars, causing them delays.
The latest demonstration at the Italian mountain resort comes after another ski station plunged into chaos after thousands of tourists descended at the same time after snapping up cheap day-trip deals online.
Anti tourists protestors have told holidaymakers to go home by writing a slogan on a snow-covered slope in the Dolomites
The latest demonstration at the Italian mountain resort comes after another ski station plunged into chaos after thousands of tourists descended at the same time after snapping up cheap day-trip deals online
Roccaraso in the Apennine mountains was left strewn with rubbish after some 10,000 tourists arrived in 260 buses last month, angering locals and overwhelming businesses.
What was meant to be an affordable day trip for families turned to ‘panic’, visitors said, as mountain roads were clogged up by coaches and cars, with many left stranded.
Disgruntled day trippers who had expected a winter wonderland were instead met with snow-scarce slopes and struggled to get on ski lifts and into restaurants, with the resort unprepared for the sudden influx.
The visitors, most of whom had travelled around two hours from Naples, bought ‘all-inclusive’ one-day trips to the town for as little as 20 euros from travel agencies and through adverts on TikTok.
Many reportedly decided to head to the mountain town after influencer Rita De Crescenzo visited last week and filled her page with content promoting the resort.
The Neopolitan TikTok star, who has gained 1.7million followers on the platform thanks to her ‘mafia mother’ image, shared videos of her family frolicking in the snow during their trip and hailed Roccaraso as a ‘beautiful place’.
De Crescenzo has insisted she does not feel responsible for the so-called ‘invasion’ of tourists.
Influencer Rita De Crescenzo visited last week and filled her page with content promoting the resort
The impacts of mass-tourism have been largely documented in recent years.
Last summer, an anti-tourist movement ravaged through Europe, with angry locals protesting the economic and social disruptions caused by foreign visitors.
Spain saw a particularly large number of demonstrations across the mainland as well as its Canary and Balearic islands.
Actions included marches on the street with protesters chanting ‘tourists go home’, as well as demonstrations on beaches which saw locals boo and jeer at sun-soaked tourists.
In response to a summer of major demonstrations across Spain’s popular resorts, Jet2’s CEO Steve Heapy warned the Canary Islands to stop playing a ‘dangerous game’ before holidaymakers take their money elsewhere at the country’s International Tourism Trade Fair last month.
‘Anti-tourism protests and derogatory comments from local administrations make tourists feel unwelcome,’ Heapy added.
‘People don’t come to the Canaries to be mistreated or to witness protests’.
He warned that such incidents tarnish the region’s image and push tourists toward destinations like Turkey and Morocco ‘where they feel valued’.
