In Italy’s Dolomites, Instagram-worthy views now have a price tag

Farmers in Italy’s Dolomites have started charging visitors to access certain scenic spots, citing overcrowding and damage to private property, according to a CNN report.

The move comes amid a surge in visitors driven by social media trends. Carlo Zanella, president of the Alto Adige Alpine Club, told CNN he believes travel influencers have fuelled the influx, drawing hundreds of thousands of people to the mountain range in northern Italy. Many tourists, he said, have been crossing private land to get photographs at popular locations such as Seceda and Drei Zinnen (Three Peaks).

To manage the crowds, local landowners have installed turnstiles at several “Instagrammable” points, charging €5 per person. Images showing queues of up to 4,000 visitors daily have appeared on social media in recent weeks. “The media’s been talking about the turnstiles, everyone’s been talking about it. And people go where everyone else goes. We’re sheep,” Zanella told CNN.


Italian law guarantees free access to natural parks, including the Alps and Dolomites. However, Georg Rabanser, a former national team snowboarder who owns land in Seceda, said the charges were intended as a protest against littering and trespassing. “So many people come through here every day, everyone goes through our properties and leaves trash. Ours was a cry for help,” he told local magazine La Usc, as cited by CNN.

Rabanser said authorities have not intervened so far, and the landowners plan to continue with the system.