ITALY'S CAPRI PLANS TO RESTRICT NUMBER OF TOURISTS ON THE ISLAND

ROME, Oct 24 (Bernama-dpa) -- The highly-visited Italian Mediterranean island of Capri plans to restrict the number of tourists arriving each day by cutting the frequency of the ferry service, according to the German news agency (dpa).

The ferries from the Italian mainland, which during the peak season arrive on the island near the southern city of Naples every 10 minutes, may in future operate with a minimum of 20 minutes between arrivals to reduce congestion in the harbour.

However, a final decision on whether the ferry interval rule, in place since 1990, will be abolished is yet to be made.

Capri is one of Italy's most visited destinations. During the peak season, the island, which has fewer than 15,000 permanent residents, receives tens of thousands of visitors each day.

Even during the past weekend – well beyond the main travel season – more than 30,000 tourists were counted. Last year, the total was over 2.7 million.

The crossing from the mainland, mostly from Naples, takes about an hour. This represents a lucrative business for several ferry companies.

Given the masses of day-trippers, Capri Mayor Peppe Falco has also called for a new law that would give municipalities more freedom in managing visitor flows.

Complaints about too many tourists have been mounting in several Italian holiday destinations for some time. Venice is now attempting to counteract this with a fee for day visitors.

In the historic centre of Florence, the city administration is taking action against the letting of flats via platforms like Airbnb.

-- BERNAMA-dpa