(6 Sep 2024) FOR CLEAN VERSION SEE STORY NUMBER: 4516549 ASSOCIATED PRESS Rome, Italy - 6 September 2024 1. Wide of Trevi Fountain 2. SOUNDBITE (English) Trisha Thomas, The Associated Press: ++PART OVERLAID BY PREVIOUS SHOT++ ++PART OVERLAID WITH CUTAWAYS TO TREVI FOUNTAIN++ "This has been the summer of overtourism in Europe. In cities like Rome, Florence and Venice are struggling to keep up with the enormous flow of people. We are here at the Trevi Fountain, one of Rome's most popular tourist sites, where this summer they've been getting about 10 to 12,000 people a day, all clamoring over each other, trying to get a selfie and throw a coin in the fountain." 3. Various of crowd around Trevi fountain, people throwing coins 4. SOUNDBITE (English) Trisha Thomas, The Associated Press: ++PART OVERLAID WITH PREVIOUS SHOT++ "Now, Rome's City Council for tourism said they have to come up with a new strategy for the Jubilee year in 2025. What they're thinking of doing is blocking off the area around the fountain. People will have to book online and then pay a fee of 2 euros ($2.20) to get in. And then they'll have half an hour in there to enjoy the fountain. That'll be just the area around the fountain, not the outside area. They're hoping this technique will be a way of protecting the fountain, but also providing a better experience for tourists." 5. People around fountain STORYLINE: Every tourist in Rome knows that if they want to return to the Eternal City, the key is to toss a coin into the Trevi Fountain and make a wish. The result: Hordes of visitors packing around the baroque monument any given day, betting on a return trip and clicking selfies. Officials are now considering a plan to manage tourism to one of Rome’s most-visited sites: A 2-euro ticket, for an open-air fountain that has always been free to access. The proposal by city’s top tourism official, Alessandro Onorato, comes after the Italian lagoon city of Venice tested a controversial 5-euro access fee to the city this summer. It must be deliberated by the City Council before it takes effect, but the city’s mayor, Roberto Gualtieri, has already voiced support. Cities across Europe are grappling with how to manage the ever-growing number of tourists, who fuel the tourism economy but increasingly create chaos by converging on the same top sites. Officials hope to test the entrance fee, managed through a reservation system and a QR code, in time for the 2025 Jubilee year, which launches in December, and then have the system operational by spring. Passersby in the piazza overlooking the fountain will not have to pay. The fee would be charged only to those entering the marble steps leading up to the fountain. It would be free to Romans. AP video by Paolo Lucariello Production by Trisha Thomas =========================================================== Clients are reminded to adhere to all listed restrictions and to check the terms of their licence agreements. For further assistance, please contact the AP Archive on: Tel +44(0)2074827482 Email: info@aparchive.com. Find out more about AP Archive: http://www.aparchive.com/HowWeWork Twitter: https://twitter.com/AP_Archive Facebook: https://www.facebook.com/APArchives Instagram: https://www.instagram.com/APNews/ You can license this story through AP Archive: http://www.aparchive.com/metadata/youtube/51535a6b8bc54e368d1bd83947f544af