Azernews.Az

by Alimat Aliyeva

The Archaeological Park of the Colosseum is stepping up its fight against ticket resellers and dishonest tour operators by reinforcing a series of measures that have been in place since May, AzerNEWS reports.

Starting Monday, May 4, physical tickets for the Colosseum, Roman Forum, and Palatine Hill will be sold exclusively at the official ticket office located in Colosseum Square. This change removes the possibility for resellers to purchase tickets from alternative points of sale and later resell them to tourists as so-called “skip-the-line passes,” which often did not actually exist.

In recent years, the situation around the Colosseum has become a clear example of broader issues in Rome’s tourism industry. After the pandemic, visitor numbers to the “Eternal City” surged, and demand for access to major archaeological sites such as the Colosseum, Roman Forum, and Palatine Hill increased dramatically. Because ticket availability is limited and time slots are strictly regulated, these landmarks became highly sought-after — and easily exploited by scalpers and unauthorized operators.

In practice, many tickets were purchased through automated bots or bulk reservations and then resold at inflated prices, often disguised as guided tours or priority entry packages. In some cases, fake identities were used to bypass the personalized ticket system introduced to reduce speculation.

The issue has become so widespread that it has drawn criticism from tourists, licensed guides, and authorities alike. Italy’s antitrust regulators, together with the Archaeological Park administration, have launched investigations aimed at dismantling the grey market and restoring transparency to ticket sales.

In the coming weeks, accreditation will also be suspended for around 30 tour operators who were found purchasing tickets through public channels instead of the dedicated professional system. Investigators discovered that some operators used fictitious names — including, according to reports, “Pippo Franco” and even “Dua Lipa” — to circumvent identification rules. Authorities traced these actions through IP address analysis, and financial penalties are expected for violations.

Additionally, starting May 9, it will no longer be possible for visitors to change the name on a ticket independently. Any correction will require an official email request and will only be approved in three cases: typographical errors, documented force majeure, or mistakes in selecting the ticket type.

Interestingly, this crackdown reflects a growing trend across Europe, where major cultural sites are increasingly turning to digital identity verification and AI-based fraud detection systems to combat ticket fraud. Similar measures are already being tested at museums in Paris and Barcelona, suggesting that the Colosseum may become a model for how historic landmarks manage overtourism and digital ticket abuse in the future.