Staff Reporter
A NEW report has warned that urgent action needs to be taken in Spain to prevent the country’s historic city centres from suffering damage due to soaring numbers of tourists visiting the country.
The new study was focussed on the city of Valencia, and was put together with the help of architects, engineers and experts from the tourism sector.
The researchers concluded that the authorities will need to take action to monitor flows of visitors in popular areas if churches, cathedrals and other heritage monuments are to avoid being damaged forever.
“I don’t want to demonise tourism because it is a driver of the local economy, but better management is needed before historical monuments are damaged for future generations,” researcher Maria Jose Viñals told the i newspaper.
Read more: ‘We won’t stop!’ Anti-tourism protesters plan fresh demonstrations in Balearics
Viñals added that the tourism levels in Valencia are not as high as cities such as Barcelona, but that action must be taken to avoid irrevocable damage.
A series of protests have taken place so far this year across Spanish cities, in a bid to change the current model of tourism.
Back in April, demonstrators in the Canary Islands called for a freeze on tourist numbers, claiming that the sector was making life unaffordable for locals and is damaging the environment.
