The travel and tourism sector directly accounted for 3% of total global Gross Domestic Product (GDP) in 2017, translating to $2.4 trillion, a figure that could reach $3.5 trillion by 2027. This is good news for travel professionals, but for tourists, residents and community leaders of favorite hot spots, more is not always better. Record-breaking tourist flows continue to place Italy’s cultural and artistic patrimony at risk and test the patience of residents in popular Italian destinations. Two Chicago women specializing in the Italian tourism sector know their STOP Overtourism Movement is the answer.

Chicago’s Lesley Pritkin and Rosanne Cofoid, owners of two “Italy-only” travel companies say tourists are curious and will try new places – if they know about them. For this reason, they want to provide travelers with alternatives to the traditional hot-spot cities like Rome, Florence and Venice. For first-timers whose must-see list includes the hot-spots – they have also created alternative “crowdless” ways to see them. They are calling upon tourism professionals and travel writers to join their movement by highlighting lesser-known places that are equally as rich culturally and aesthetically as the better-known locations.