Tourists are already seeing a complicated and stressful process in front of them when trying to arrange hikes for their stay. I will share some comments on another post soon.
The Madeira National Association (ADN-Madeira) issued a statement this Wednesday, signed by Miguel Pita, denouncing what it considers to be the failure of the online booking system through the Simplifica Portal for hiking tours in the Autonomous Region of Madeira, warning of the negative consequences that the measure is having on the tourist destination in the short term.
Miguel Pita, the party’s regional coordinator, states that “the online booking system through the Simplifica Portal for walking tours in the RAM is not functional and is only harming our Madeira destination,” adding that not all tourists are proficient in using the internet and that they all have the same right to access the island’s land routes and viewpoints.
The party is now asking the Regional Government to quickly acknowledge the failure of the measure, pointing to the fact that the main problem is that many tourists are unable to book their desired routes and, in some cases, are also unable to obtain refunds for payments made in advance. The Simplifica Portal explicitly states that “it is not possible to make changes or request refunds for completed and paid reservations,” and that “rescheduling or refunding an activity (route, camping or diving) is only possible if it has been cancelled for reasons attributable to the IFCN.”
ADN-Madeira emphasizes the practical impossibility of anyone predicting in advance whether they will be in physical or health condition to undertake the planned tour, a situation in which the tourist faces a dilemma: “Either they take the tour even if they are not in condition, putting their physical integrity at risk, or they simply lose the money.”
The party also denounces that, in some places like Rabaçal, there are people who use alternative accesses to the main entrance, escaping the surveillance of the Forestry Police and the payment of the fee, which makes “the reality even more unfair for those who pay and have to literally ‘push’ along a promenade that should be for leisure.”
Alternatively, ADN-Madeira reiterates its proposal for a single tourist tax payment upon arrival at the airport, accessible via cash or card, with the issuance of a QR code valid for the trails and viewpoints chosen by the visitor, on the days and times of their convenience. The party also argues that the revenue should revert to the Association of Municipalities of the Autonomous Region of Madeira (RAM), with greater transparency in the application of funds, something that, according to Miguel Pita, “has not happened since tourist taxes began on the island of Madeira”.