‘I have to dodge them all the time’: Rome locals incensed by rise in golf cart tours
Rome is facing a surge in tourist-focused golf cart tours, leading to significant friction between residents, taxi drivers, and local authorities. While tourists appreciate the convenience of navigating the city's narrow streets, officials are seeking to regulate the industry to manage traffic and overtourism.
Why it matters
This highlights the growing tension between the needs of the tourism industry and the quality of life for residents in major European cultural hubs.
A tourist golf cart passes in front of the Colosseum. A tourist golf cart passes in front of the Colosseum. Italy ‘I have to dodge them all the time’: Rome locals incensed by rise in golf cart tours Authorities crack down on trade they says risks spiralling out of control – but operators say they are being targeted unfairly
Angela Giuffrida in Rome Sat 3 Oct 2026 06.00 EDT Share Prefer the Guardian on Google O n the edge of Piazza Navona, one of the grandest squares in central Rome, Barry and Linda, visitors from Texas in the US, stepped out of a golf cart. They planned to cross the square on foot, perhaps stopping to admire Lorenzo Bernini’s 17th-century Fountain of the Four Rivers, before being picked up by their driver at the opposite end.
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