Not surprisingly, Rome is one of the most popular destinations in the world. In 2023 alone, the Eternal City saw a reported 35 million tourists visit the city and explore its many historical and archaeological wonders. The unfortunate reality of traveling means that areas with high volumes of tourism also tend to experience crimes against said tourists. Normally, that takes the form of pickpockets and petty theft. Sometimes, it's the organizations running things that cause the problems.
From 1997 to 2024, CoopCuture was responsible for ticket sales at the Colosseum, possibly Rome's most popular spot among tourists. In 2023, Italy's antitrust authority began investigating multiple complaints about ticket sakes, specifically that regular priced tickets were almost always unavailable. This isn't a shock given the site's popularity. What was actually happening was CoopCulture bundling regular priced tickets with their own expensive packages to increase their own profits.
In addition to that, CoopCulture was allowing tour operators from other countries to buy regular prices tickets in bulk using bots. Again, these operators would then bundle the regular priced tickets with their own expensive tour options to increase their profits. The result was an extreme scarcity of regular priced tickets for people simply looking to experience the Colosseum without the 'bells and whistles." Millions were allegedly forced to buy expensive tour packages they likely did not want.
CoopCulture as well as six different tour companies from across Europe have been fined a combined total of nearly $30 million for schemes that created scarcity issues they in turn benefitted from financially. Consorzio Nazionale Servizi Societa Cooperativa is now responsible for ticket sales at the Colosseum which will hopefully lead to more transparent and ethical practices for the more than 12 million tourists who visit the site annually.