Italy’s competition authority on Tuesday levied fines totaling €20 million against half a dozen tour operators for ticket hoarding practices, which made it nearly impossible for regular visitors to buy basic tickets online to visit the landmark Roman Colosseum.
An investigation began in July 2023 following widespread complaints about how it was nearly impossible to buy tickets at official prices online.
The country’s antitrust authority, ACGM, said that this ticketing hoarding led to the “substantial and prolonged unavailability” of standard-priced tickets for Italy’s most popular tourist attraction.
Tourists were instead forced to buy higher-priced tickets bundled with additional services like tour guides or the chance to skip the line.
The Colosseum director declined to comment on the fines, his office said. It said the Colosseum was Italy’s most-visited monument in 2023, with over 12.3 million visitors.
How were agencies making it almost impossible to buy tickets?
The Cooperative Culture Society, which managed ticket sales for the Colosseum from 1997 to 2024, received the largest portion of the overall fine at €7 million. This was for failing to prevent automated ticket hoarding and for reserving a large share of tickets for its own guided tour packages.
Six tour operators based in Italy, Germany, the Netherlands and Ireland were also fined for using bots and other automated systems to buy up large quantities of tickets, making them unavailable for individual tourists.
The authority did not list the mark-ups, but the Archaeological Park of the Colosseum which is operated by the Italian Culture Ministry, lists the price for access to the ancient Roman arena at €18 for adults.
For that price, visitors can spend 20 minutes on the Colosseum’s main floor.
