Visitor numbers to yet another iconic tourist destination are about to be restricted due to fears about over-tourism.
The ancient Roman city of Pompeii will cap daily visitor numbers to 20,000 from November 15.
The move is to help conserve the UNESCO-listed historical relic, which last year saw four million people tread its ancient streets.
It’s just the latest destination to impose visitor restrictions, following similar moves in Venice, Athens and Paris.
Pompeii is still revealing it’s tragic history with a third of the site still to be excavated by archaeologists. The city was submerged under volcanic ash, rocks and dust following the eruption of Mount Vesuvius in AD 79.
The park’s director Gabriel Zuchtriegel said visitors to the main archaeological site now exceed an average of 15,000 to 20,000 every day and the new daily cap will prevent the numbers from surging further.
“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,” Zuchtriegel told The Independent.
“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.”
