Italian Officials: Ticketing Agencies Make It ‘Impossible’ To Visit Rome’s Colosseum

Italy’s Competition Authority (AGCM) on Tuesday fined several ticketing agencies a total of $22 million for practices that have made it difficult for tourists to visit Rome’s Colosseum, the Associated Press reported

The Cooperative Culture Society (CoopCulture), responsible for ticket sales from 1997 to 2024, received the biggest fine, more than $7 million, for contributing to the unavailability of base-price tickets online and redirecting visitors to purchase tickets at much higher prices from platforms that included additional services like tour guides or line-skipping, according to Italian press agency Ansa.

“On the one hand, CoopCulture failed to take adequate steps to counter automated ticket hoarding; on the other, it kept a sizeable share of tickets for bundled sales tied to its own educational tours, which generated considerable profits,” wrote AGCM in a statement.

Six tour operators in Italy, Germany, the Netherlands, and Ireland were also fined for buying tickets in bulk using automated systems to make base-price tickets unavailable for tourists and forcing visitors to buy tickets from resellers at higher prices.

The competition authority launched an investigation in July 2023 and found that the online purchase of tickets to the Roman-era Colosseum amphitheater “was essentially impossible.”

The Archaeological Park of the Colosseum, operated by the Italian Culture Ministry, lists the access price to the Colosseum for adults at about $19.70, which buys 20 minutes on the landmark’s main floor.

In 2023, more than 12.3 million tourists visited the Colosseum, making it Italy’s top attraction.