The president of the PS-Madeira criticized, today, the “negligence of the Regional Government in relation to disordered tourism and overloading on the main routes and tourist points of the Region”, defending measures with a view to, simultaneously, “guaranteeing the safety of users and protect the environment”.
In a press conference at Pico do Areeiro, one of the places where the highest influx of visitors has been most visible, Sérgio Gonçalves made a note of Miguel Albuquerque’s statements that “it is better to have many tourists and some accidents than not to have tourists at all” .
“We cannot have a Regional Government with this negligent position in relation to what is our main sector of activity, in relation to the load on the various routes, in the main tourist points of the Region, without taking measures to regulate [the activity]”, said the leader of the socialists, considering it “fundamental to preserve the environment and guarantee the safety conditions of all those who enjoy these spaces”.
Sérgio Gonçalves recalled that, throughout this legislature, the PS presented several proposals in this regard, including the creation of the Legal Regime for Pedestrian and Cycling Routes, which “intended to monitor the use of these spaces, define safety plans and measure the load on the same”, and the legislative initiative aimed at regulating camping.
“There are lots of reports of wild, unregulated camping”, maintained Sérgio Gonçalves, considering that, “on the one hand, it is necessary to provide more information to all those who want to camp in the Autonomous Region of Madeira”, and, on the other hand, that “we have places recommended so that this activity can be carried out safely, respecting the environment and nature”.
“The Regional Government and the PSD-CDS majority turn a blind eye to all of this. They are concerned only with counting record numbers of tourists, and many of those who make their living from tourism, many of the tourist entertainment companies that are also dedicated to pedestrian routes, are concerned with the overload, with the lack of regulation and lack of control that could come to destroy what is our chicken that lays the eggs of another – the tourism sector”, he warned.