Decongesting the Cinque Terre: Tourist Taxation

We have spent the last few days in Vernazza, one of the five small towns that make up the Cinque Terre (literally “five lands”), a popular tourists destination in Italy. The towns of the Cinque Terre have their roots in fishing and terraced agriculture, but as these towns were put on the map as a desirable, off the beaten path destination, many residents turned away from agriculture and to tourism to support themselves.

Vernazza 

The article Hayden and I read for this destination is called “Some Simple Economics of Eco-Tourism.” The author defines eco-tourism as any tourism drawn by natural features, though the concepts can be applied to man-made attractions as well. The basic argument is that many natural attractions for foreign tourists are congested and degrading the resource and that taxation of foreign tourists can help regulate usage to prevent the tragedy of the commons. When taxation is not possible the author suggests regulation of usage by a decrease in quality of access to the resource

The Cinque Terre is a marvel of natural and human-made beauty. The cliffs and the ocean are one attraction but the tiny, colorful villages and terraced slopes are also attractive to tourists. Over the last 30 or so years, the Cinque Terre has become overcrowded during tourist season to the point that the destination is not longer the quaint series of towns advertised. One of our speakers strongly advocates a similar method of regulation as the author of our article: taxing the tourists. Specifically, our tour guide, an American/Italian resident of Vernazza, wants to charge for entry to the city from cruise ships to deter visitors. Unfortunately, Italy will not allow the taxation of tourists.

Sea cliffs just outside of Vernazza

If taxation is not an option for regulating the visitors to the Cinque Terre, a deliberate decrease in the quality of access may be the next best option. The most popular hiking trail is paved and flat and could conceivably be hiked in heels. This is an example of extreme ease of access. On the other hand, less maintained trails have many fewer people and are much more pleasant.

Luckily, we’re here during the off-season and have not run into hoards of tourists. We are by no mean the only tourists in the town, but the tourists are not so think that we can’t walk through the street; the local color is still clearly visible.

Terraced agriculture above Vernazza