Glamorous Italian holiday island cracks down on tour group size

A popular Italian island known for its designer shopping and glamorous history has tightened its tour group restrictions.

Capri, found in the Bay of Naples, has introduced guidelines which limit groups to 40 people in an attempt to stem overcrowding.

“They look like herds of sheep and it’s not nice to see,” Paolo Falco, the island’s mayor, told the Times. “We need to save beauty; we don’t have any other choice.”

The rules also request that guides leading more than 20 tourists communicate via wireless earpieces, rather than loudspeakers, and opt for easily identifiable clothing rather than umbrellas to lead the way.

Tour groups must also be mindful of residents when moving around the island. “We’re saying to stay on the right on the way up, stand on the left on the way down and don’t loiter in the square,” Mr Falco said. “Sometimes they completely prevent locals from passing through.”

Capri, with its fine dining, high-end boutiques and luxury hotels, has long attracted A-list visitors. Elizabeth Taylor and Audrey Hepburn often visited during their Hollywood heydays.

The island also draws tourists to its picturesque natural wonders. Among them is the Blue Grotto, a natural sea cave that glows a deep turquoise, often visited via small wooden boats. In the summer, sightseers can expect wait times of up to two hours to enter.

Mr Falco told the publication that his administration was assessing further measures, such as signing an agreement alongside some of Italy’s other small tourism hotspots, to find new solutions to overtourism.

This could include capping the number of daily ferries that arrive on the island.

“We don’t want to limit the number of people coming here,” Mr Falco added. “We want a more sustainable model where visitors don’t find themselves in an infernal nightmare.”

The Independent has contacted the City of Capri and the Municipality of Naples for comment.

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