Capri is tightening rules for organized tourism ahead of the summer season, moving to curb congestion that local officials say has become harder to manage on an island built around narrow streets, small public squares, and limited transport capacity. According to Euronews, a new municipal rulebook for tour groups sets a maximum size for organized groups arriving on the island and restricts how guides manage and communicate with visitors. The measures ban the use of umbrellas and other conspicuous markers that guides often hold up to keep groups together, and they also limit amplified commentary in larger groups.
Local reporting describes the policy as part of a broader “vademecum” approved unanimously by the town council to improve tourist flows and reduce disruption for residents. The changes come as Capri continues to face intense peak-season pressure, with daily visitor totals that can reach tens of thousands in high season, far exceeding the island’s resident population. Officials frame the move as crowd management rather than a tourism shutdown, while signalling that further port and arrival-management steps may follow if congestion at key access points remains high.
Capri Bans Umbrellas And Flags As Tour Groups Face New Summer Rules
The new rules prohibit guides and group leaders from using umbrellas, flags, or other visible objects to guide tour groups through the island. Instead, guides must use a discreet sign or a regulation paddle to identify themselves. Authorities say the aim is to prevent large groups from blocking pedestrian routes and bottlenecking key passages, a recurring issue in Capri’s busiest areas during the summer travel rush.
Ansa’s coverage describes the regulation as an anti-chaos measure designed to reduce the disruption caused by group movement for residents and other visitors navigating the same corridors. The approach mirrors a wider trend in Italian destinations adopting stricter group-management rules in response to overtourism concerns, with Capri’s policy focusing on the visual footprint of tours as well as their volume.
The council-approved guidance emphasizes the need for orderly movement and reduced obstruction in public areas, reflecting complaints that large groups can effectively “take over” narrow streets when they stop for explanations or regroup. By targeting the tools used to marshal groups, the municipality is trying to keep Capri’s busiest routes passable without eliminating organized tourism entirely.
Tour Group Size Capped As Authorities Restrict Loudspeakers For Larger Parties
Under the regulations reported by Euronews, organized tour groups disembarking on Capri will be capped at forty people. For groups with more than 20 participants, guides may no longer use loudspeakers. Organizers must instead provide visitors with headphones or earpieces so guides can deliver commentary without broadcasting it into crowded streets and squares.
Officials present the audio rule as a direct response to noise congestion caused by overlapping groups in the same small areas, turning public spaces into competing sound zones during peak visiting hours. Capri’s infrastructure strains when large groups move as a single mass, particularly on routes linking transport hubs with the central town area and scenic viewpoints.
By forcing tours to stay smaller and quieter, the municipality is betting it can reduce the sense of “herding” that residents say undermines both daily life and the visitor experience. Coverage in Italian media also notes that the council unanimously approved the measures. The crackdown arrives as Capri faces sustained scrutiny over overtourism, particularly from day-trippers who concentrate arrivals into short windows and flood the island’s central areas.
