It's been nearly 2,000 years since the fateful eruption of Mount Vesuvius that saw the deaths of around 2,000 people and ended life as its locals knew it. However, it has become clear the streets of Pompeii are just as busy today, if not even more so.

Last year, the iconic archaeological site saw a record-breaking four million visitors during the summer months alone. This came to a daily average of 15,000 to 20,000 visitors, far exceeding previous years. It came as no surprise, therefore, that a daily limit of 20,000 visitors was implemented in November, in an attempt to manage overtourism and protect the site. Now, The Express has spoken with Gaetano Manfredi, owner of Pompeii Tour Guide, who is part of a family of four generations of tour guides, starting with his grandfather down to his son, who has described today's tourism as a "disaster".

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"I went to Pompeii for the first time when I was eight, now I am 62, so I have seen Pompeii throughout the years," Mr Manfredi said. "I grew up with the cruisers, with the tourists, and in the last years it's a disaster."

He explained that overtourism in Pompeii is not a new phenomenon: "It developed with the coronavirus pandemic, and it changed how people think.

People have begun to realise that governments could easily implement new lockdowns, Mr Manfredi said. "So now people see things differently, if they have the means, they want to have fun, go out and spend their money. They want to live and travel.

"Today, people think about the present, not the future, as many are afraid of a new pandemic or a war in the future and to be in a lockdown again. People realised life is short and there may be more dark times in the future.

Mr Manfredi added that due to globalisation, there is no solution to the overtourism crisis: "With low-cost flights and cheaper cruises, you can't go back to the past. Things have changed for good."

Speaking on the 20,000-visitor daily limit, the tour guide said he would remove it. This is because between 15,000 and 18,000 visitors choose the morning slot, so by the afternoon, the city is empty but no more tickets are available as the limit has already been reached.

What is needed at Pompeii, he said, is the creation of new infrastructure that can handle the large number of visitors: "Pompeii needs many more ticket offices - there are only three. It needs more toilets, there are only a few. There is the need of more infrastructure to welcome this 'avalanche' of people that you can't stop, you can't tell people to stay at home.

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"Pompeii could welcome at least 30,000 people because the city is big, it's 66 hectares [163 acres], it's an ancient city. If you open more infrastructure, you can welcome more people."

Mr Manfredi also gave some advice for tourists planning on visiting Pompeii, particularly regarding the first Sundays of the month: "First of all, you should avoid visiting Pompeii on the first Sundays of the month, when the entry is free - and it is a disaster.

"We have experienced waiting times of three, four hours before people were able to enter, and some reached the ticket office only to be told they could not visit Pompeii because the park had already reached the 20,000-visitor per day limit."

He also urged people to avoid the queues and buy the tickets via the TicketOne platform, where you will be charged €1 extra, but "it is worth it, as with it you don't go through the ticket office to enter Pompeii, you go straight to the checkpoint".

Earlier this month, the Director of Pompeii, Gabriel Zuchtriegel, told The Telegraph that he wished visitors stayed longer instead of a "three-hour box-ticking circuit". In response to this, Mr Manfredi said: "I understand, but we are in a democracy. We would all like that, but you can't.

"We tour guides would rather have tourists who are interested and willing to pay for the cultural aspect rather than just visiting to take pictures for Instagram.

"But we are in a democracy, how do you pick who can enter? You can't."