The 2025 Fodor’s Travel ‘Go and No Lists’ highlights popular tourist destinations that are struggling with the weight of their popularity, facing overcrowding and environmental stress.
One such place is Agrigento, Sicily. Fodor notes that Agrigento is gearing up as the Italian Capital of Culture in 2025, likely leading to an influx of visitors.
However, they caution: “The area is facing a severe water crisis that could be further aggravated by increased tourism and could irrevocably harm its most precious cultural treasures and punish its permanent residents.”
The locals of Agrigento, a historic hilltop city on Sicily’s southwest coast, have long dealt with water shortages, relying on cisterns and tanker deliveries. However, the combination of climate change and a prolonged drought has made the situation critical.
Small hotels and guest houses are among those struggling to provide a consistent water supply to their guests.
Some are limiting bookings in August due to concerns about providing basic amenities like flushing toilets and functioning showers.
While larger hotels can purchase water from the mainland, smaller establishments lack the storage capacity or financial resources.
As for locals and those who run local businesses, many have been forced to shut shop while hundreds of households rely on stored water for washing and cooking.
A combination of factors is being blamed for the water crisis in Agrigento. The city’s ageing and leaky underground aqueduct system is struggling to supply enough water, with some locals pointing to poor governance and management as a major contributor to the shortage.
Despite discussions about upgrading the water network dating back to 2011, little progress has been made. To address the issue, the Italian government has allocated €20 million to purchase water tankers and dig new wells in Sicily, but as of July, only 17 percent of the planned works had been completed.
The drought also threatens the city’s historical and cultural sites, including the poignant Valley of the Temples, which embodies the rich history of Agrigento and its establishment. It’s one of the most outstanding examples of ancient Greek art and architecture of Magna Graecia and one of the main attractions of Sicily.
In 2023, the Valley of the Temples in Agrigento, Sicily, saw 1,000,000 visitors. But Giuseppe Abbate, a professor of urban planning at the University of Palermo, says the drought threatens the “splendid agricultural landscape” it’s immersed in.
In February, officials declared a “state of crisis and water emergency” for irrigation and drinking in Agrigento, which will remain in effect until year-end.
It spells bad news for visitors hoping to visit the Sicilian destination. Giuseppe said: “If the period of drought and water emergency were to continue, it is clear that it could represent a serious problem for an event such as Agrigento Capital of Culture 2025 which will attract significant flows of Italian and foreign visitors and tourists.”
Cities throughout Italy have been experiencing severe droughts, but Sicily’s situation is one of the worst, listed as “extreme,” the highest level, according to the Italian National Institute for Environmental Protection and Research (ISPRA), CNN reported.
In the summer of 2024, Sicily’s regional president, Renato Schifani, claimed that the island’s losses from crops, empty reservoirs, and dying livestock had already surpassed one billion dollars—and that’s without accounting for the loss of tourism.