While the Parco Archeologico del Colosseo (part of the Ministry of Culture) has signed an agreement with a new ticketing system provider (CNS Servizi), on 18th December it was announced that the current provider (CoopCulture) would remain in place until 30th April 2024.

See ‘Colosseo: latest updates’ below for latest information about proposed ticketing policy and a link to the application materials to become a travel trade buyer.

ETOA developed a Memorandum aggregating member concerns as basis for continue dialogue, indicating the likely adverse impact – especially if the quota available to the travel trade reduces.

April 2024

23rd April:  following the first day of operation of the call centre dedicated to B2B ticket reservations for registered operators, we asked for some practical clarification; responses were as follows:

1. It will be possible to book individual tickets for the month of May (reservations were not accepted yesterday) starting at the end of this week.
2. Subject to availability, from 2nd May it will be possible for operators to book additional tickets to existing allocations in the same slot, thus building group size.
3. The call centre number will be the same.
4. Operators who tried to book school groups on B2C and were blocked due to multiple accesses will be unblocked in the next few days (you are advised to write to the Parco to report any issues).

10th April: further to dialogue with the authorities yesterday, we understand the following:

Allocation and response

1. 100 operators have already confirmed the proposals received.
2. By now, all accredited operators accredited should have received a proposal with the tickets. They should reply with their acceptance (or refusal) as soon as possible (ideally within 5 days from the receipt of the proposal).
3. It is possible to refuse some slots and confirm others (contrary to previous understanding).

Additional tickets and variation process

4. Operators will have the opportunity to request more tickets (within reason) via call centre, once it is operational, subject to availability.
5. Also via B2B call centre, it should be possible to change tickets’ time, subject to availability.
6. Call centre will be available only for accredited operators once they are confirmed as such.
7. The Colosseum strongly requests that all accredited operators please not share the number of the call centre with non-accredited operators.
8. Meanwhile, all questions should be directed to the email address provided.
9. There will be a B2B portal for changing customers’ names. Further details will be communicated once details are confirmed.

Underground tickets and guide entrance

10. Underground tickets: there will be 6/7 slots per day for the Underground. The current suggestion is to offer 6 tickets twice a month i.e. 12 tickets) only for accredited operators. Suggestions as to how best to handle this are welcome.
11. Tickets for guides are free and excluded from the allocation. Most guides already have the pass to enter the Colosseum.
12. However, for the Arena and Underground guides need tickets as spaces are limited.

[previous updates below]

In anticipation of receipt of formal letters issued first week of April with confirmation of tickets offered, below is our current understanding of the situation:

1. They received 3,600,000 tickets requests from around 200 operators.
2. 2,000,000 tickets have been requested for 10am slot. These will be shared and redistributed during the day.
3. Groups bookings are encouraged at 8:30am or in the afternoon.
4. They will plan to issue 1,600,000 tickets initially with a a further 200,000 kept in reserve.
5. Operators should receive a formal letter with the confirmation of their tickets by Thursday 4^th April and they will have 5 days to confirm or not. There is no renegotiation at this stage, so we expect some more availability if tickets are not confirmed.
6. From Wednesday 10^th April, operators will receive invoices with 10 days payment terms. The payment will be for all requested and confirmed tickets until the end of December 2024.
7. On payment of invoice operators will receive electronic tickets.
8. There will be a call centre for accredited operators – this should not be shared with operators who are not accredited; they should use the B2C contact centre.
9. For reduced tickets, there will be the opportunity to request them soon. If numbers already known, please send to the Par.Co ; if not, communication about how to request them and how to convert tickets will be sent at a later stage.
10. Groups to visit the Colosseum remain up to maximum of 25 people including free and reduced tickets. With a local guide, the group will be 26 pax.
11. For 2025 there will be a new process (hopefully ready in October) and technology available (via API connection).
12. As soon as we have more news, we will update this page.

March 2024

Members still have until 18th March to apply to become a trade buyer. Official announcement here.

Further to meeting attended by ETOA and others with Parco Archeologico on 13^th March, our current understanding is as follows:

1. 30% of tickets will be available for B2B (more than the stated amount of 25%). This can be reviewed in the future, on request. Capacity has increased so has number of tickets available (3200 tickets per hour).
2. Operators should complete the Excel file and pay all tickets requested once confirmed by the Parco Archeologico. (We have asked for more flexibility with payments given the cash-flow implications of 8 months of pre-purchase – and the added impact on loss of opportunity to earn bank interest if reserves permit. They will let us know, but for now this is the rule.)
3. Operators can be accredited even without completing the Excel file and use the call centre to buy tickets when needed (subject to availability).
4. All aspects will be reviewed at the end of the year and another tender will be available for 2025 onwards.
5. All documentation is currently self-certified, but they will ask for official documents in the next few weeks. If operators already have official documents, they can send them through now.
6. The Parco is working to find a solution for free/concession tickets which are not available via the B2B channel for now.
7. B2B clients are not allowed to use the B2C channel.
8. From 1^st May 2024, the Parco will start checking online websites and offline material to make sure that all rules will be respected. If not, the account will be blocked.
9. Resellers: each operator should provide a list of their resellers; Colosseum won’t use any data for any commercial activity.
10. Schools and education trips: it is possible they will open a B2B channel for these groups. For now, the B2C form needs to be used.
11. Name on ticket can be changed only once and at least 3 days before the visit.
12. Foreign operators need not provide official documents that are only available in Italy.

All the updated documentation and regolamento (also in English now) are still available here: https://colosseo.it/bandi_e_concorsi/avviso-pubblico-manifestazione-interesse-albo-ufficiale-operatori-turistici-abilitati-parco-colosseo/

Note: ETOA is happy to receive reports from members as to remaining questions and responses from Parco Archeologico to their applications to be a B2B buyer so we have a comprehensive picture of the new arrangements’ impact on the travel trade.

On 29th February, Parco Archeologico del Colosseo published information about applying to become a trade buyer. 

Deadline for application is 12 CET 18th March,

Any queries must be received by 12 CET 9th March.

Any practical questions should be addressed to: pa-colosseo.alboto@cultura.gov.it

Despite the appearance of the application materials, we understand from meeting on 1st February (see below) and subsequent discussion that non-Italian entities can apply. We encourage interested members to do so as soon as practical.

February 2024

Following discussion from a closed meeting on 1^st February with various domestic stakeholders and ETOA, below represents our best understanding of the current position and intentions once new partner is in place. Please note that we cannot be responsible for any reliance on this information: we will publish any official news as soon as practical.

Latest activity: Following consultation with members, we have prepared a Memorandum on expected business impact as basis for continued engagement with the authorities.

1. Regulatory framework (Regolamento): detailed rules are currently being finalised and by the end of February there will be a public announcement addressing operators. Once published, operators can express interest. The objective of the Parco is to provide a window of a couple of weeks to receive and asses required documentation before the end of March in order to grant access to the B2B platform and define allotments.
2. Documents required: most probably, Operators will need to provide up-to-date business data (e.g. registered balance sheets), information on the company, overall business volumes, licenses (e.g. TO licenses or similar), insurances; DURC, “fondo di garanzia” for Italian companies. Also, each applicant will be asked to estimate volumes from the sales of the Colosseum’s related products, insights on distribution channels and characteristics of their offer. This information will be key for the Parco to better understand the actual size of the B2B segment before assigning allotments.
3. Availability for B2B: there’s no final decision on how many tickets will be given to B2B. The Parco is starting from an assumption of at least 25% of the total (current quota is 50% B2B and 50% B2C. The Parco mentioned that they will start at 25% for B2B and accept it will probably increase; they are open to discussion. Based on the existing assumptions, each operator should not be granted more than 500 tickets per day, which might increase once the Parco will finalises its decision.
4. Assignment of the allotments: once a B2B operator is approved, they should be allowed to access a given number of tickets, which they will be able to reserve via the B2B portal (a completely new platform to be released). Each ticket reservation will incur a per-ticket fee (diritto di prelazione) which will may differ depending on the time of visit: peak hours will incur higher fees, while off-peak times will benefit from reduced rates. The preliminary hypothesis is to ask for basic non-refundable fee set at 3 EUR, with names to be submitted no later than 3 days before the scheduled visit. Unreserved/unassigned tickets will be taken back and made available to other channels.
5. No deposits: in order to access the B2B portal there will be no deposit needed and payment should be done only by credit card or wire transfer. Apparently, no other deposits (e.g., guarantee deposits) will be required, and so far as we know there does not appear to be any requirement envisaged that will affect eligibility of non-EU buyers.
6. Timeframe: as the switch from CoopCulture to the new set-up is 100% confirmed from the 1^st May, the Parco is aiming to open the new portal to approved operators from 1^st April.
7. Booking horizon: it should be confirmed that all B2B operators will have the right to book up to 1 year in advance, whereas B2C bookings will not.
8. Testing phase: 2024 will be considered as a test year and the idea is to have an annual review, especially on allocation mechanisms et alia.
9. Groups: Groups will need to have 25 visitors max per guide, although operators have requested some flexibility (e.g. 26 or 27 not incurring need for second guide). The Parco is considering this, but for now no change is expected. In due course, we expect it will become mandatory for each guided group to enter with radio headsets.
10. Sale of tickets: no ticket will be available for pure reselling. The definition of value-added extra service will be detailed in the “Regolamento” in due course. Ancillary services will need to add real value, but no detail was given, just a few examples to illustrate what will not be accepted (e.g., ticket + map, ticket + video). In general, emphasis is placed on the importance of ticket traceability and the provision of quality ancillary services.

December 2023

ETOA attended a meeting in Rome along with other associations at which the following information was provided.

Ticket Distribution

• It is confirmed that CNS Servizi will start on 1st May 2024 with 48 months contract.
• The distribution of tickets will go through 3 channels (distribution % TBC):
  • B2C – it will be possible to buy 8 tickets per transaction for individuals and 25 tickets per transaction for groups.
  • B2B – system not ready yet – details to be confirmed.
  • Onsite – details to be confirmed.
• Name on the tickets will remain compulsory:
  • B2C – name change allowed until 7 days before the visit
  • B2B – name change allowed until 3 days before the visit (already in place)
• The new distribution process will follow 4 main things:
  • Transparency
  • Quality
  • Sustainability
  • Accessibility
• API connection will not be available immediately but may be implemented in the future
• Selling window:
  • B2C – it will probably remain the same (30 days in advance)
  • B2B – 1 year
  • Onsite – TBC
• All B2B contracts will have 1-year validity
• Final Price will remain 18€ for the Colosseum tickets, 24€ for the Pass
• The capacity will increase 200 people per hour (2000 per day). Therefore total capacity will be 3200 people per hour (currently 3000).
• All operators will have the ability to work with the Colosseum; accreditation process may begin from mid February. Instructions on how to apply for tickets will be published on the Parco website: www.colosseo.it (operators will need to provide some documents – details to follow).
• There will be rules to be respected and the Parco will monitor closely all the tickets bought from the travel trade.
• No single tickets can be sold in any way – it must be packaged with a service (guided tour). A paper map is not considered a service.
• For each group of 25 people there must be a travel guide. A group of 40 people will require 2 guides.