This Italian Beach is Going to Start Charging Admission

Tourists who wish to soak up the sun at one of Italy’s most popular beaches will soon have to buy a ticket to do so.

Visitors heading to Sardinia’s La Pelosa beach may have to plan well in advance as the beach will start to cap its visitors at 1,500 per day and will charge admission upon entering. Town officials have not yet reveal the entry cost or when exactly it will go into effect, but the limited capacity rule will go into effect next summer.

The beach is regularly named one of the most beautiful in the world for its blue waters and soft sands. However, the beach’s ecosystem is in danger due to overcrowding. Money raised from the ticket sales will go towards preservation efforts, according to the Italian newspaper Sassari Oggi.

“We have started the process of properly using Pelosa Beach, focusing on its preservation. The fact that the region has funded the first beach redevelopment projects demonstrates its importance and value,” public works commissioner Antonella Mariani told the newspaper.

Visitors are already banned from bringing towels and beach bags to the beach in an effort to keep as much sand as possible from straying away in belongings. Smoking and selling items is also prohibited on the beach.

The beach is far from the only attraction in Italy that has begun ticketing for admission. Venice hopes to begin a similar system as it faces overtourism.

And the popular town of Cinque Terre debated imposing caps on the number of tourists who could visit every day. Instead, the town partnered with those nearby to redevelop tourist flow and introduced an app to inform people when the town’s seaside trails are in danger of overcrowding.