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TikTok Video Creates Chaos At Italian Ski Resort, Forcing Emergency Tourist Limits

Over 10,000 day-trippers flooded Roccaraso after a TikTok influencer's posts went viral, causing road chaos and overcrowded slopes. The mayor has now restricted tourist buses to manage the situation.

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TikTok Video Creates Chaos At Italian Ski Resort, Forcing Emergency Tourist Limits

After a viral TikTok video and low-budget travel packages started bringing tourists to the town of Roccaraso, an Italian popular ski resort, the mayor of the town restricted tourist buses yesterday. Over 10,000 visitors were brought in by 260 buses from the city of Naples and the Campania region on Sunday.

The impromptu overcrowding spawned serious traffic jams on the road to Roccaraso and littered the resort with garbage. Among them were those attracted by Naples-based TikTok star Rita De Crescenzo’s live video and posts she shared with her 1.7 million followers. Local tourist agencies were not stingy either when they started organizing return bus trips from as low as €20-€30, also including breakfast.

Mayor Francesco Di Donato described the situation as unprecedented, despite the fact that the town of Roccaraso regularly becomes overcrowded on weekends. In response, he announced a new rule limiting the number of tourist buses to 100 on weekends, requiring advance booking. On average, the resort welcomes 20,000 skiers and an additional 15,000 tourists on winter weekends. However, the arrival of hundreds of buses last Sunday without any restrictions pushed the town beyond its capacity.

In response to allegations of discrimination against Neapolitans, Di Donato countered that it was a question of safety and practicality. According to him, Roccaraso was too small to hold this many people.

Meanwhile, De Crescenzo denied responsibility for the overcrowding and vowed to return with even more visitors. The incident highlights the growing impact of social media influencers on tourism, with TikTok-driven trends increasingly drawing crowds to unexpected destinations. Experts warn that such digital-fueled travel booms, once associated with major cities, are now affecting smaller, less-prepared locations like Roccaraso.