MILAN (Reuters) – Tourists with hotel reservations on the Italian island of Capri will be allowed back on the island as local authorities work to restore water supplies after a damaged aqueduct on the mainland cut off water supplies.
“We are preparing a new, less restrictive decree to allow the return of residents, villa owners who often have their own water tanks, and tourists who have booked hotels. Hotels will be responsible for ensuring there is water,” Capri’s mayor Paolo Falco told Italian news channel TGCOM24.
Governor Falco ordered a ban on tourists on Saturday after a water main burst in the coastal town of Castellammare di Stabia, leaving residents on the island of Capri without water.
“We have been working through the night to secure the incoming water shipments and tankers to carry the water. I’m sorry to everyone but there was nothing I could do. My first priority was to prevent a medical emergency,” he added.
According to a recent analysis by hotel technology solutions provider Libra Tech and duty-free shopping data company Global Blue, Capri was the most popular destination for foreign tourists to Italy in May and June, accounting for 84% of all visitors to the country.
Tourists spend an average of four days on the island off the coast of Naples, and nearly a third of them are Americans.
(Reporting by Valentina Za and Mark Potter Editing)
