Four Italian farmers in the Dolomites have started to ask a tourist fee on a public footpath as a way of protesting overtourism. With up to 8,000 people a day walking the path, the farmers are experiencing damaged too their land and are thus asking the government for an intervention.
The Seceda, a mountainous plateau in the German-speaking South Tyrol province of Italy, is a popular spot amongst hikers. From the plateau, tourists can get a good view of the Odle mountain massif and as a result, up to 8,000 people a day undertake the trip during the summer months.
While the path that leads to the plateau is crossing the lands of many farmers and individual landowners, the so-called ‘right to roam’ convention in the Dolomites gives anyone the right to walk the established paths crossing those lands. And even though this wasn’t problematic until recently, when only a handful of hikers passed by, the increasing visitor count has been worrying local farmers.
Four farmers have now combined their forces and set up a turnstile, where tourists were charged €5 if they wanted to continue their hike to the plateau. Initially, the turnstile was only set up for a couple of days in July 2025 but as the initiative did not get the attention of the authorities, it was brought back at the end of July 2025 for an undetermined amount of time.
“It’s a cry for help. We were hoping for a call from the provincial government but we received nothing, just hot air, nothing of substance. We didn’t even receive a cease and desist order. The authorities need to understand that while the cable car operators receive huge amounts of money from the invasion of tourists, we don’t make anything and yet we have to bear the cost of damage done to our land and the rubbish that is left behind by badly behaved visitors”, Georg Rabanser, one of the four landowners who took action, told The Telegraph.
While the farmers essentially considered the move to be a cry for help, they also point out that the local cable car – which takes tourists up the mountain – benefits from the increased visitor numbers as access is paid, the landowners get nothing while their land is being damaged by tourists going off the path.
@iris.in.crisis #dolomites #seceda #dontknow #nobodytalksabout #schocked ♬ DIM – Yves
Not everyone agrees
While authorities have not yet reacted to the move, local tourists associations have spoken out against it. According to them, if the turnstile is maintained, this opens the doors to other similar initiatives which might harm the ‘right to roam’ principle in the long run.
“Seceda is a high alpine pasture with many landowners who are obligated to maintain and mow the meadows—an essential contribution to the area’s unique biodiversity. A long-established hiking trail runs across the land at the top of the ridge, and many people walk along it. However, visitors often stray off the path and sit on the blooming meadows, which still need to be mowed. This measure was not coordinated with our organisation and is beyond our responsibility. We have already informed the relevant authorities of the situation, as free and fair access to hiking trails is very important to us”, Christina Demetz, destination manager at the local Val Gardena tourist board, told The Independent.
@la.voce 🎯 Selfie e code sotto il sole: la montagna insorge 📝 Polemiche in Trentino contro l’overtourism da social 📍 Lunghe code, caldo soffocante e centinaia di persone in fila solo per una foto perfetta: al Seceda, in Trentino Alto Adige, scoppia la polemica sull’overtourism da social. 📸 Il presidente del CAI locale, Carlo Zanella, attacca i turisti “mordi e scatta”: “Più interessati all’apparenza che alla montagna”. 🚡 Le funivie sono prese d’assalto e c’è chi propone di chiuderle d’estate o aumentare i prezzi per limitare l’afflusso. 📈 Ma la società che gestisce gli impianti ha chiesto di triplicare la capacità delle cabine. Più turisti, meno equilibrio. #Seceda #Trentino #overtourism #CAI #valgardena #montagna #giornalelavoce
♬ suono originale – Giornale La Voce
According to Lukas Demetz, president of the tourist association in Santa Cristina, four rangers have recently been employed in order to manage the tourist flow and to make sure they respect the local rules.
It is not he first time Dolomites residents have spoken out against overtourism, with an ancient rock in the region being graffitied with an anti-tourism slogan in 2024. Moreover, the mountainous regions in Italy have seen a rise in tourist numbers over the summer of 2025, as many people are switching their usual beach holidays for cooler destinations to flee the heatwaves.
