Access by reservation for large groups in order to regulate flows and make the Cinque Terre tourism. This is the proposal that the Cinque Terre National Park has made to the municipalities of Monterosso, Vernazza, Corniglia, Manarola and Riomaggiore.
An idea that not only aims to avoid gatherings and comply with the anti-Covid-19 rules, but that looks further ahead, setting itself the goal of starting a reconversion process focused on higher quality tourism and better use of the area for residents and visitors.
For those who want to access the paths and trails managed by the Cinque Terre National Park these rules are already a reality. In recent months, the institution has in fact adopted the Federparchi protocol which includes limited groups of up to 15 people, accompaniment of guides and reservations. Now the proposal is to introduce a similar provision for the villages as well, reducing the groups and activating a shared table which leads to the creation of a single reservation center for groups.
Anyone arriving at the Cinque Terre in groups of more than 15-20 people, on cruise ships, buses or trains will therefore have to book an access ticket to visit the paths and villages. A rule that will allow visitors to better enjoy the beauty of the area, avoiding "elbowing" with the other visitors who, especially in the summer months, storm the streets of the small villages. However, there are no limitations for individual tourists. "The aim is to regulate flows, not to establish a limited number of accesses", reassures the Park.
"The limited number has left our lives", underlined the president of the Cinque Terre National Park, Donatella Bianchi, in an interview given to FIRSTonline in June. The project, he explained, is to “implement forms of programming that lead the Cinque Terre to improve its offer focused on higher quality tourism. It will depend on our ability to offer a new way of using the Park and the Cinque Terre territory. Courageous choices will have to be made to ensure that a more selective but also more demanding tourist can find what he is looking for in the Cinque Terre ”.
It won't be an easy path, it will take time to implement an adequate management and IT system, but the Covid-19 pandemic could turn into an opportunity for change aimed at convey the tourism of the future in the name of sustainability and quality.
