I really want to see how they are going to put this into action, knowing the mess they have made so far.
What do residents think ? Its not going to be as easy now to jump in your car and take friends and family out to see these places on the island.
What about tourists ? Your freedom will also be restricted, and having to plan even more your days, if you want to explore the island, plus the added costs.
The cost of access to recommended hiking trails in Madeira will be determined according to each individual situation. It will cover the 42 trails on the official list, which from January onwards will require prior registration and will be limited to a limited number of available slots, with 30 slots released throughout the day to avoid overloading the trails. From January 1st, all trails will be paid, except for residents registered on the Simplifica portal. The prices are still being finalized and will be published soon.
In April, the Pico do Areeiro-Pico Ruivo trail will reopen; it will be the most expensive of the group, announced the Regional Secretary for Tourism, Environment and Culture. Another new development is the creation next year of six special zones associated with the most popular locations.
Eduardo Jesus assures that there is no overload on any of the trails per day. The calculations for the permitted capacity on each trail are based on a study conducted by the Tourism Observatory of the University of Madeira, a study that is helpful at this stage, where, as the secretary emphasized, “a different management” of the natural space is necessary.
“Having calculated the capacity, we compared it with the number of people present in the physical space, and we reached a first conclusion: none of the trails we have are overloaded. In other words, under no circumstances are we seeing more people per day than the capacity defined for that trail. The problem was that we needed to distribute that capacity throughout the day, from sunrise to sunset.”
Despite stating that the daily numbers do not exceed the recommended levels, he admits that concentrating visitors at certain times of the day was not beneficial for the experience, the territory, or sustainability, and therefore a different approach is necessary. The mandatory prior registration and payment reorganise the visit, allow for greater comfort and security, and provide a different level of control over the use of the space, the official emphasizes.
Eduardo Jesus revealed that the new measures were taken after consulting the University of Madeira and its Tourism Observatory, and by listening to the sector through the Funchal Commercial and Industrial Association (ACIF). He spoke of a constructed solution that involves the need to “adapt” some behaviors and routines. “I am convinced that, with this focus that exists today, on knowledge, expertise, research, and the needs of the sector, we are well-oriented,” he stated, highlighting the importance of gathering opinions and reactions from those who visit Madeira and the work carried out at the level of research and science.
Creation of individualized parks
The paid use of routes based on available spaces is the beginning of a more comprehensive process, announced the Minister, revealing that concrete measures will be created for the most popular locations – Pico do Areeiro, Ribeiro Frio, Queimadas, Ponta de São Lourenço, Fanal and Rabaçal – and indicating what activities can be carried out and used there. “We are treating them as individual parks, with their own management, with their own control of entrances, with appropriate parking, with management of daily capacity.” Everything will be optimized with the Simplifica system, which is being updated, as well as with a mobile application that is being developed and with the website of the Institute of Forests and Nature Conservation, which is being modified, he added. “On several fronts we are acting so that not only the management of the territory, but also the experience and access to information will be a completely different reality.”
The associated parking will also be reorganized in a second phase of action, “it is essential to remove the car loading area from where people visit,” he argued, explaining that it will be moved to a more distant area, and connecting solutions are being considered.
The Government is currently focused on carrying capacity, on managing and simplifying the process. Next year it will invest in improving the logic of these parks. It is currently reinforcing the teams in order to respond to the new challenges. In the first phase, he said, those who arrive at the trails without a reservation will find an employee and a payment terminal; if there is still availability in terms of users for that time, they can proceed with the walk. He acknowledges the need for a transition period, considering that it is “a significant change”.
In addition to controlling entry, there will also be monitoring along the route and fines for those who do not comply.
Priority for operators
Eduardo Jesus admits that benefiting groups is one of the main objectives, reducing the excess of cars. He says it’s necessary to distinguish between two realities: those where two people use a car, and those where a car carries 20 people. “It’s important that economic operators, with protocols signed with the IFCN, who transport more people in a single vehicle, can have some differentiated access compared to those who travel in individual cars.” The secretary assures: “It’s not the excess of people, it’s the excess of cars that has complicated people’s mobility.”
The new model brings changes, particularly to the schedules, changes that will be made in accordance with the sector’s own capacity to adapt. Evaluation will be ongoing, as will monitoring and potential adjustments to address any difficulties that, it says, will arise.
Regarding the prices to be charged for the routes, as well as the revenue the Government expects to raise with this new model, the secretary is reserved, saying he cannot yet disclose the cost of access because the regulations are not yet finalized, and the revenue because he does not yet have figures. He assures that it will be used for investment in this area. According to the official, two recruitment processes are underway to reinforce the teams, and if necessary, resources will be subcontracted. “It is exclusively for the activity that is being charged for there. That is, maintenance, conservation, preservation and improvement of access to information, reservations, purchases, slot management, entry management, in that whole range of situations,” he stated.
According to the survey conducted on the ground, less than 2% of residents follow the recommended routes.
Fieldwork to define numbers
Carrying capacity is measured based on the Integrated Route and Activity Management System and according to several indicators. It depends on the characteristics of the route, the weather, the state of conservation and the length of stay, for example; there are 15 correction factors in total that then impact the management of the number of people using the route in a given period. Using the Areeiro Trail as an example, in the work carried out by Observador, brought by Élvio Camacho, it had a carrying capacity of 1,322 visitors throughout the day, 171 simultaneously, adjusted with a correction factor of 1, and one hour and 40 minutes to complete the route. The correction factor is to be reviewed every 3 months.
It was in 2017 that the Observatory team carried out the Tourism Project: characterization, impact and sustainability of Tourism in Madeira; in 2021 they did another study on the carrying capacity in the Laurissilva forest and last year the diagnosis, in terms of carrying capacity, network coverage and infrastructure, rescue and inspection. In 2025, four lines of research were created on carrying capacity, product, monitoring, and alert and safety. This year and next, the team is and will continue to work on the pilot project for monitoring, defining indicators for monitoring carrying capacity, studies of physical fitness and the profile of tourists who travel the routes.