Visiting Pompeii this year? Be aware of big changes in ticket sales and tour access

Pompeii’s archaeological park plans to limit visitors to 20,000 a day and introduce personal tickets from next week in an attempt to deal with over-tourism and protect the world heritage site, officials said on Friday.

The move comes after what authorities said was a record-breaking summer in which more than 4 million people visited the world-famous remains of the ancient Roman city, buried under ash and rock after Mount Vesuvius erupted in AD 79.

Park director Gabriel Zuchtrigel said visitors to the main archaeological site now exceed an average of 15,000 to 20,000 each day, and the new daily limit will prevent further increases in numbers.

“We are working on a series of projects to relieve human pressure on the site, which may pose a danger to both visitors and heritage (that is) so unique and fragile,” Zuchtrigel said.

Beginning November 15, park admission tickets will be personalized with visitors’ full names. A maximum of 20,000 tickets will be released each day at varying intervals during the peak summer season.

The park management is also trying to attract more tourists to visit other ancient sites connected to Pompeii with a free bus as part of the “Greater Pompeii” project, including Stabia, Torre Annunziata and Bascarele.

“Flow management and security measures, as well as the personalization of visits, are part of this strategy,” Zuchtrigel said.

“We aim for slow, sustainable, pleasant and non-mass tourism and, above all, a wide spread throughout the area around the UNESCO site, which is full of cultural values ​​that need to be discovered,” he added.