News: Fallout of Over-Tourism as Italy cracks down with £6000 fine on Tourists buying things from mainly African Beach Vendors

Tourists in Italy could be fined up to £6,000 if they buy fake designer goods from beach vendors, the country’s new hard-line interior minister has warned.

The sellers, who are thought to mainly come from West Africa and Bangladesh, are often found on Italian beaches trying to sell items to unsuspecting visitors.

But Matteo Salvini has warned these vendors are damaging legitimate businesses by selling counterfeit goods and evading tax.

And under a new decree, holidaymakers in the likes of Rome and Sardinia could be fined if they buy sunglasses, watches and baseball caps from them.

The law will also affect tourists who pay unauthorised workers on beaches for massages and tattoos.

Meanwhile, the vendors themselves also face fines of between £2,200 and £13,600.

According to the Telegraph, Mr Salvini said: ‘We need to stop the invasion (of vendors) on the beaches, and also stop the sale of counterfeit goods.’

Italy has a huge tourism industry but recently there have been fears the country is becoming overrun with visitors.

In April, the mayor of Capri said he was planning to mimic Venice and ‘experiment’ with crowd control measures to stop tourists swamping his tiny Italian island.

Gianni De Martino said that Capri, a popular resort since the days of the Roman Republic, ‘could explode’ after warning that receiving millions of visitors a year ‘is a bit too much’.

His comments came after Venice – which struggles to accommodate 25 million tourists a year – introduced metal barriers to funnel tourists down less popular streets so locals could still go about their business.

The visitor-only routes were put in place in Venice for tourists heading to St Mark’s Square and the Rialto Bridge.

Source: dailymail.co.uk