Tourism and social networks are part of an increasingly inseparable binomial, but not without controversy. Breaking into El Golfo or diving into the pool of Jameos del Agua are increasingly common situations in Lanzarote.
The latest altercations of this type suffered on the island come from two tourists who decided to climb the slope of a volcano in the Timanfaya National Park and two others who went down to Charco Verde despite the signs indicating that it was prohibited.
Due to this environmental infraction, the CEO of the Tourist Centers (CACT), Ángel Vázquez, has intervened on Radio Lanzarote-Onda Cero to explain the roadmap of the Cabildo of Lanzarote in order to avoid these cases that can be framed as "attacks on heritage".
First, Vázquez assures that the institution is already working "on a sanctioning regulation for those people who use the centers inappropriately." This project would be its own regulation that would allow those in charge of controlling the space to directly fine offenders. For the moment, the Art, Culture and Tourism Centers are studying whether or not this option is viable and whether the Cabildo has the power to sanction.
Until now, according to the CEO of CACT, the only option is to "do it directly, file a complaint, have the Civil Guard arrive and make a report." This process causes offenders to leave the scene before the arrival of the agents, making their sanction difficult.
"In the end, when you touch people's pockets, you realize that there are things that cannot be done, they have to understand where they are, there are people who do not know where they are," he reflects in the morning show Buenos días, Lanzarote.
More signs and more surveillance
To inform visitors of the value of the place where they are, the CEO insists on the importance of signage, even if it has to be adapted to the landscape so as not to hinder it. "If they are correctly informed at the entrance, they can no longer say that they do not know where they were," he stressed.
The problems of tourist saturation in the Culture Centers of the island involve analyzing the carrying capacity of each of the spaces. Something the counselor is working on.
He also assures that the presence of more security is crucial to avoid these environmental attacks.
The Timanfaya queues
The famous queues of vehicles that wait for hours in the sun to visit the Mountains of Fire are one of the problems that does not have an easy or quick solution. "We are analyzing time slots. It is the only center where there is no light, we work with diesel engines. Designing time slots à la carte will take some time, we are talking about months."
The Cabildo of Lanzarote is considering the possibility of installing fiber optics in the visitor park. Since for now, "using cutting-edge technology without having the appropriate intensity is not possible," he explains. The particular case of the Mountains of Fire leads the highest island body to consider establishing time slots for online sales to visit this space.
The Timanfaya National Park is one of the most visited in the country. The peak visits occur between 9 in the morning and 12 noon. In addition, the tourist profile has changed and travelers prefer to buy independently, do it individually, so there are more cars than if they were in group excursions.
This formula is the same one that is proposed for the Cueva de Los Verdes. This already happens in other parts of the country such as the beach of As Catedrais in Galicia, with 2,000 daily visitors, who access in a controlled manner in an established schedule.
"The centers have become vulgarized," defends Ángel Vázquez, who proposes to establish a higher rate than the current one, which is in a bonus, eight euros per ticket. "The best natural theme park at eight euros in a bonus," he jokes.
For the moment, the CEO denies the idea of using shuttle buses from Mancha Blanca and the Molino de Yaiza to avoid saturating the national park.
