Abstract
Overtourism has emerged as one of the most debated challenges affecting major tourist destinations, with Italy frequently cited as a prominent case. This paper examines the policy responses to overtourism in Italy, focusing on how institutional arrangements, interest groups, and public discourse shape the management of tourism growth. Drawing on existing literature and emblematic cases - most notably Venice and Florence - the study argues that overtourism cannot be understood solely as the outcome of excessive visitor numbers. Instead, it results from long-term structural transformations, including demographic decline in historic centers, real estate dynamics, and policy choices that have reshaped urban economies around tourism. The paper analyzes the policy “toolbox” available to public authorities, ranging from regulatory measures to demarketing and nudging, and discusses the challenges of implementing them within complex systems of multi-level governance. Attention is given to conflicts among stakeholders and to the political incentives that often hinder effective intervention. The paper concludes by outlining different paths of evolution of the overtourism debate.