Make some tourist services more expensive to have more resources to deal with climate change and take measures to avoid overcrowding. These are some of the recommendations launched yesterday by the vice-president of the Tourism Board of the Provincial Council of Lleida, Juan Antonio Serrano, during the presentation of a study by the Chair of Interior and Mountain Tourism at the University of Lleida.
“I appeal to the sector. If you do it right and when you go on vacation you see that in the rest of the world what you get 40 euros for you pay 65, what happens is that you are afraid to get paid because you don’t value yourself enough”, said Serrano. “And this serves the private sector and the public. The Vall Fosca cable car or the lake train probably cost less than other similar services in other countries”, remarked the mayor of Vielha, who years ago chaired the Lleida Hospitality Federation, now led by Josep Castellarnau.
“We have the only glacier in Spain between Huesca and Lleida. For a while it will still be able to be seen, let’s revalue it and charge it”, insisted Serrano regarding Aneto.
The study that was presented yesterday concludes that the tourism sector of the province still has the potential to attract tourists despite climate change, but that it must take measures.
The author of the study, the geographer Maria Sans pointed to the fact that heat waves will increase between 10 and 35 days between 2040 and 2070 and the natural and agricultural landscape will be modified, a circumstance that will also modify cultural tourism, as has already happened with the festival of the falls of the Pyrenees, which has once suffered restrictions due to the risk of fires.
The author proposes eleven measures to increase resilience, such as deseasonalizing the activity, enabling climate shelters for visitors (in churches, museums or areas with fountains or trees), planning risks, managing landscapes, promoting alternative activities or monitoring climatic variables. To mitigate climate change, it proposes the energy rehabilitation of buildings, efficient use of water, public transport, encouraging the offer of an educational nature and compensation mechanisms.
Sans did not go into detail about the future of the ski resorts, for which the head of promotion and marketing of the board, Juli Alegre, assures that they are implementing measures. He did say that the low rainfall affects water activities in reservoirs that are now more difficult to see full or in rivers that need water for rafting or other sports.
