Chaos at Pico do Areeiro

It was chaos at dawn this morning as tourists and tourism professionals were forced to navigate total car pandemonium up at Pico do Areeiro. What should have been a magical start to the day led to tears, tantrums, and frustration.

Bad kerbside parking on both sides of the road, including bends or junctions, made it very difficult for cars to circulate the highest part of the Pico do Areeiro. Several buses and tourist mini-buses became stuck in the chaos.

One tourism professional lamented to Diario that their clients were very unhappy about the situation and regretted that Madeira is becoming a destination to be avoided.  Last week it took some tour buses an hour before they were able to leave Ponta de São Lourenço.

They went on to say:

“We have an excess of tourism and ‘Our rulers’ do not want to know, nor will they take any action.  Every day we struggle with traffic congestion and it is getting worse.

To try to counteract this situation, Horários do Funchal has run a public bus between Funchal and Pico do Areeiro, but confirms that those who work at Pico suffer traffic chaos every day. “There are more and more rent-a-car cars,” says another tourism professional, noting that the car park created just above Poço da Neve is usually full by 07:00.

Eduardo Jesus, who will take over the Environment portfolio in the next Miguel Albuquerque Executive, adding it to Tourism maintains, “Madeira does not have too much tourism, Madeira does not have tourist pressure, we are at a very large distance from the territories that suffer with this phenomenon” he categorically stated last September.

On the occasion, he even pointed out the ‘formula’ to reach this conclusion: “It’s taking the overnight stays and dividing them by the residents, and taking the tourist flow and dividing them by the square kilometers of the Region. We are doing very well and there is a world of difference between Madeira and what the rest of the world is experiencing. “