How the Iberian holiday hotspot of Lisbon is handling overtourism
According to the most up to date figures, Portugal accommodated three million tourists this June alone — representing a 6.7 per cent jump from the month before. This is how some Lisbonites are living with an inundation of visitors.
Category
🗞
NewsTranscript
00:00According to the most up-to-date figures, Portugal accommodated 3 million tourists in June alone.
00:09And while these foreigners inject cash into the local economy,
00:13many Lisbonites are speaking out against how their overpopulated presence is impacting the city.
00:20This has been going on for five or six years.
00:24It's a mess.
00:27I think it's all thanks to a terrible change.
00:30For the worse, not for the better.
00:32Many are looking to the government to strengthen holiday-making measures,
00:36such as daily caps and taxes.
00:40We don't want to host all the tourists.
00:42That's not our goal.
00:44We want the tourists to be our allies and understand that there is a problem here.
00:50One local politician believes limiting tuk-tuk vehicles could unclog busy streets.
00:57This seems to be a solution that allows us to reconcile what is important,
01:03save for saving an economic activity, an offer that tourists like.
01:07It's obvious. If they didn't like it, there wouldn't be any.
01:11But at the same time, we have to reconcile it with the interests of a city,
01:14a city where people live and have to live with balance, peace and quality of life.
01:19We have to respect each other.
01:22And while many tourists understand the plight of the Portuguese and the traffic jams,
01:28others want to relish in the landscape's splendor.
01:33There's a lot of traffic.
01:35We spend a lot of it on the bus trying to get to the top.
01:38I'm from London where we're used to traffic.
01:41It wouldn't put me off.
01:44Why would you not want to share this with people?
01:47It's such a beautiful place.
01:48Portugal has joined a growing chorus of southern European countries,
01:52such as Spain and Greece,
01:54attempting to balance the needs of locals over vacationers.