Flip-flop fines for tourists at beauty spot

Tourists who embark on the steep, winding trails of Italy’s celebrated Cinque Terre coastline face heavy fines this summer if they set out in flip-flops, pumps or sandals.

Exasperated mountain rescue units are fed up with having to rescue illequipped visitors who find themselves in trouble on the tough, narrow footpaths that link the five former fishing villages of the coastline in the northwestern region of Liguria.

The national park authority is to introduce a public information campaign this year to try to convince tourists to be better prepared.

But day-trippers who ignore the advice will face fines of between €50 (NZ$84) and €2500, depending on how much inconvenience and expense they inflict on the authorities.

The tightening of the rules has been prompted by a number of mishaps and accidents in which tourists have come to grief on the Cinque Terre’s precipitous paths and have had to be rescued.

Next month marks the start of the tourist season for the Cinque Terre, which literally means ‘‘five lands’’.

The picturesque region is bracing for a fresh invasion of hapless visitors this year because of a forecast surge in the number of cruise ship passengers who will dock at the nearby port of La Spezia, from where they access the Cinque Terre.

An estimated 750,000 cruise passengers are expected this year, compared to 450,000 last year.

Many more will arrive by train on the railway line that runs along the coast.

‘‘The problem is that people come here thinking they are at the seaside, but the paths above the villages are like mountain trails,’’ said Patrizio Scarpellini, the head of the Cinque Terre national park.

‘‘First, we will introduce the information campaign, then we’ll start issuing fines.’’ – Telegraph Group