The Colosseum Archaeological Park includes the Colosseum, the Roman Forum, and Palatine Hill, and it’s one of the world’s most popular tourist attractions. Colosseum Archaeological Park visitor numbers have been on the rise in the last decade, and 2023 was a record-breaking year—with a staggering 12 million visitors.
With such high footfall, the Colosseum’s ticket office requires greater accountability, traceability, and security than less popular attractions. Managing visitor numbers and admission costs across the many distribution channels is a real challenge.
The main problem in recent years has been ticket touting or ‘scalping’, when resellers use automated software to bulk-buy tickets online and sell them on at higher prices. To help overcome the problem, Colosseum Archaeological Park authorities have introduced ‘named ticketing’.
Beating the touts with named ticketing
Until recently, groups visiting the Colosseum only had to give the name of their party leader. However, with the introduction of named ticketing, all visitor names must now be taken at the time of booking, along with identification such as passport or driving license number.
Under the named ticketing rules, Colosseum authorities now know the specific owner of every ticket sold. The change helps reduce the problem of ticket touting, and addresses problems of queue-jumping and bulk-purchases of tickets.
The impact of named ticketing on visitors
Until the introduction of named ticketing, many tourists visited Rome and did not set foot inside the Colosseum because ticket touts and unauthorised resellers had raised their prices so much. Named ticketing addresses that problem and helps ensure correct admission prices for all visitors.
There is a downside, though. Named ticketing has made the booking process longer and trickier for travellers to the Colosseum. Visitors must organise themselves ahead of time, provide details of their group members, and submit valid identification for everyone at the time of booking.
On arrival at the Colosseum, they must show their identification with their ticket. Anyone without an ID that matches their named ticket is denied entry.
The impact of named ticketing on resellers
Named ticketing also affects resellers like online travel agencies and local partners like hotel concierges and tourist offices. They’ve had to update their booking systems to capture the relevant customer details, and bulk-buying tickets to sell at inflated prices is no longer possible.
To manage the change, Colosseum ticket resellers must rely on effective channel management, which must be updated to reflect the requirements of named ticketing.
“We’re pleased to help our partners combat ticket touts at the Colosseum, using our technology to offer travellers a safer and more secure ticketing experience.”
Josef Birchler, Chief Product Office at Palisis
The impact of named ticketing on Colosseum Archaeological Park authorities
The new ticketing system benefits Colosseum Archaeological Park authorities in three main ways:
- It helps monitor visitor numbers to prevent over-crowding
- It prevents fraudulent ticket touting and re-selling
- It improves on-site security, because visitors are recorded more accurately
How many other globally recognised tourist attractions will follow the Colosseum’s lead on named tickets remains to be seen. For them, it’s a balance between managing a swift and user-friendly booking process, and ensuring fair prices and payment transparency for all.
We’re pleased to support the Colosseum in its ticket distribution efforts, and keen to see more travellers booking with confidence and enjoying an unforgettable visit. If you think your customers would benefit from a similar level of ticketing transparency, contact us for more information, and learn how we can help.