Independent Funchal councillors Luís Filipe Santos and Jorge Afonso Freitas have questioned whether the city’s ambitions for internationalisation are compatible with the tourism growth strategy pursued by the regional and municipal governments.
Their criticism follows statements made during Funchal City Day by the Regional Secretary for Tourism, Environment and Culture, Eduardo Jesus, and Mayor of Funchal, Jorge Carvalho.
The councillors argued that defending a cosmopolitan Funchal which is open to the world should not be confused with submitting the city to mass tourism or allowing visitor numbers to increase continuously without considering the island’s capacity.
“The discussion about the future of the city cannot be reduced to the idea that more tourism necessarily means more development,” they said in a press statement.
They also highlighted what they described as a contradiction between Jorge Carvalho’s intention to increase Funchal’s tourist tax and his acknowledgement that tourism pressure is already having a serious effect on housing, mobility, street cleaning and municipal services.
According to Luís Filipe Santos and Jorge Afonso Freitas, the tourist tax “cannot be the answer to every problem” or simply be used to cover the costs created by tourism after those pressures have already occurred.
“There is no contradiction between defending a city that is open to the world and establishing limits and criteria for tourism,” the councillors maintained.
They argued that Funchal should adopt a tourism model based on quality, added value and economic diversification, while placing residents’ quality of life and their right to housing at the centre of municipal policy.
The councillors have now called upon Eduardo Jesus and Jorge Carvalho to publicly clarify the limits they believe should be placed on tourism growth in Funchal. They also want them to explain how the authorities intend to distinguish quality tourism from the uncontrolled growth in visitor demand.
Samantha Gannon
info at madeira-weekly.com
Views: 38
