Visitors, who invanded an Italian Ski Resort after a TikTok video went viral, have been criticised for blocking roads, leaving rubbish and not following ski etiquette
A TikToker’s video has caused chaos at an Italian ski resort.
More than 10,000 day-trippers descended on one of Italy’s most popular skiing destinations on January 26 after a viral influencer posted on social media about the resort, prompting tour operators to organise cheap tour bus trips.
Around 260 tour buses made the two-hour, 78-mile trip to Roccaraso ski resort, alongside cars full of visitors — which resulted in the narrow roads becoming blocked and angering the area’s 1,500 residents, reported CNN.
The tour groups paid €20-€30 each (£16.72-£25.09) for the trip, which included a sandwich. They have been accused of causing mayhem on the slopes as they ignored ski etiquette and were seen sliding down pistes on sleds made of various items, including saucepans.
Other complaints included that the visitors had lit barbecues for warmth and to cook food, and some had also left rubbish behind them. Rita De Crescenzo, a popular influencer from Naples, posted the viral video alongside a number of other videos of herself at the resort, inviting others to experience the snow.
Rita denied responsibility for the overcrowding, she told Il Messaggero: “All I said was that Roccaraso is a beautiful place. People are free to move as they want and I cannot be responsible for the behaviour of others.
“I published content that reached a huge audience, which makes me proud. I’m convinced that Roccaraso will continue to be a highly attractive destination. I will be back on Sunday and you will see that, thanks to my videos, even more people will come than last weekend.”
The rise in visitors caused municipalities around Roccaraso to introduce a number of measures to limit the crowds, including restricting tour bus access in the area.
Roccaraso’s mayor, Francesco di Donato, told Adnkronos: “[W]e have hundreds of unauthorised buses arriving. On Sunday, 260 came, especially from Campania, bringing another 10,000-12,000 people. This was a real assault and the situation became unmanageable.”
He added that on a normal two-day winter weekend, the area experiences around 20,000 skiers and an additional 15,000 people, who sled or trek in the snow. In attempt to curb the influx of visitors, tour bus access has been limited to 100 on Saturdays and Sunday, and bus companies will also need to pre-book online.
He continued: “Roccaraso welcomes and wants to welcome more tourists, but we want civilised skiers. With €30 (£25.09) you cannot even ski, as a ski pass costs €60 (£50.16). Roccaraso is not able to withstand the kind of assault we had on Sunday – for example, we cannot put 1,000 portable toilets in a ski resort.”
Di Donato is also concerned about reports from tourism bodies that nearly twice the number of daytripper deals have been booked for February 2. As a result, he has summoned the prefecture of the regional capital, L’Aquila, to ensure there will be appropriate traffic police and security in the area.
