The QSintra association has launched an initiative, which includes banners on windows and balconies and posters in the windows of shops, restaurants and cafes, demanding that the City Council take measures against “mass tourism and traffic chaos”.
In a statement, QSintra – In Defense of a Unique Site refuses to see the city become “a mere congested amusement park”, calling into question its character as a “unique place”.
Thus, “faced with the loss of quality of life, constant traffic congestion and the accelerated deterioration of the area registered as World Heritage”, the association took action.
“We want Sintra to be alive and inhabited, no to mass tourism!” is one of the slogans written on banners and posters placed in the historic center.
Simultaneously with the street protests, QSintra released a manifesto, “Sintra belongs to everyone and needs everyone”, with six demands: revitalization of the community and quality of life for residents; greater care and more criteria in urban planning and management; quality tourism rather than quantity; combating “excessive dependence” on tourism; recovering and preserving nature, calling for “stricter rules and supervision that preserve the landscape, the forest area and the coastline”; and the creation of a specialized structure to manage the Cultural Landscape of Sintra.
QSintra points out that “tourism is important for Sintra but it cannot be a factor in the disqualification of the landscape and depopulation” nor harm the daily lives of the inhabitants.
The association also calls for “a systematic survey of all major projects” involving new hotels, real estate developments and commercial areas, in order to “evaluate their impact on the landscape, the ecosystem, mobility and people’s lives”.
Sintra “has all the conditions to become a cultural hub of great quality and worldwide projection in areas with potential such as music, literature, cinema, visual arts, crafts and trades, gastronomy”, considers the association.
Source: expresso.pt
