The city has issued a rule of measures to make its tourist success “sustainable.”
Florence warns it’s “no longer able to support [these levels of tourism], without weakening its heritage value and seeing its overall livability compromised.”
Florence is taking mass tourism seriously. Like other major destinations in Italy and abroad, the Tuscan capital has decided to take steps to mitigate the effects of the flood of visitors on its streets. Nothing extraordinary so far. The curious thing is how it’s doing it: Mayor Sara Funaro presented a 10-point shock plan with guidelines and practical measures.
For example, the city will no longer allow tour guides to use loudspeakers to address their groups. Nor will landlords on platforms such as Airbnb be able to install metal key boxes on doors, gates, and building facades—a common practice to speed up tenant check-in.
A 10-point plan. On the eve of the G-7 Ministerial Meeting on Tourism in Florence last week, Funaro presented a 10-point plan to make the flood of visitors to the city more “sustainable.” The word “sustainable” is key: It appears nearly a dozen times in the communiqué issued by the city council to announce the plan.
“The message we want to give is that we care about our city and we care that Florence can be attractive but, above all, livable for residents,” Funaro stated, according to an English translation provided by Google. “With these measures, we protect Florence. Our primary objective is to ensure that our city can maintain its roots, nature and identity,” she said.
Goodbye, key boxes. Of the 10 guidelines, three are particularly striking and practical, with the aim of making the effects of the plan immediately visible. The first concerns small boxes with key codes. For some time now, it has been common to see them anchored to facades, doors, fences and gates near apartments rented to tourists through websites such as Airbnb. Their operation is simple, which explains much of their success. After booking the apartment, the tenant receives a code to open the box and retrieve the key.
A helpful but controversial tool. For hosts, key boxes are a quick, easy and, above all, cheap way to simplify check-ins. Still, from now on, they’ll have to find another solution—at least on the exteriors of buildings located in the city’s UNESCO-protected historic district. The measure has an aesthetic purpose, aiming to prevent the proliferation of metal boxes. It also goes further, requiring landlords to present themselves at check-in and limiting the role of companies that manage dozens of apartments in Florence on behalf of their owners.
They’ve become so visible in the historic center that the key boxes now symbolize overtourism in Florence. CNN reports that in some cases, they’ve been targeted by vandals, and neighbors have even covered them with red tape to protest the overcrowding of the city. “If they look like plasters, that’s deliberate: We are trying to cure Florence,” one of the initiative’s organizers told The Times.
And goodbye to loudspeakers and carts. Removing key boxes isn’t the only measure Florence has taken against overtourism. Another notable one, which underscores how frustrated the city council is with mass tourism, is prohibiting guides from using loudspeakers to address their groups. “It is a phenomenon that disturbs those who live in our city,” the council said.
A similar fate may await what the local government calls “atypical vehicles,” or modes of transport visitors use to navigate the city. For example, it cited golf carts. In this case, the Florentine government isn’t banning them outright but is considering imposing restrictions.
Are there other measures? Yes. The City Council is also discussing limits on tourist rentals, awareness campaigns, partnerships with platforms and increased control of tourist flows. This isn’t the first time Tuscany’s capital has moved in this direction. In 2023, the city took an even more drastic step by banning new short-term rentals on platforms like Airbnb in its historic center.
In September, a Florentine judge praised Airbnb, ruling that an owner’s right to rent their home to tourists outweighs the concerns of neighbors. The decision applies to a specific lawsuit involving a building on Via Cavour, but it comes at a critical moment.
Is the problem that serious? The numbers speak for themselves. According to CNN, the city council estimates that more than 7.8 million people visited Florence between January and September. By comparison, about 366,500 people live in the city. In 2016, fewer than 6,000 homes were listed on Airbnb in Florence. By last year, when the local government approved the moratorium, nearly 14,400 homes were available for tourists to rent. This significant boom coincided with a 42% increase in the average cost of residential rents.
A recent study by HousingAnywhere concluded that Florence is one of the European cities where rents have risen the most. The study found a 6.3% year-on-year increase in 2023, highlighting how housing pressures have intensified.
“The historical center is no longer able to support, without weakening its heritage value and seeing its overall livability compromised, such a massive presence of activities and means for exclusive tourist use concentrated in just 5 square kilometers (1.9 square miles),” the city council warns. This is significant because Florence estimates that 95% of the tourism arriving in the city is concentrated in its central historic core, covering just 1.9 square miles.
Beyond Florence. While Florence may be the most recent example, other cities are also taking steps to mitigate the effects of tourist congestion.
Amsterdam has launched a campaign asking visitors seeking sex and drugs to “stay away.” Seoul has fortified its historic district. Japan has begun charging fees for using the most crowded route up Mt. Fuji and has installed an “anti-selfie” screen. Bali has imposed a moratorium on new hotels. New Zealand, Iceland, and Italy have implemented tourism taxes to offset costs and impacts. Spain, too, has faced moratoriums and neighborhood protests due to the saturation of the sector.
These are just a few examples of how cities are addressing the challenges of overtourism.
Images | Taylor Smith (Unsplash) | Jonathan Körner (Unsplash)
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