The launch of an online ticket sales platform and the creation of an auxiliary parking lot in the El Chinero area are two of the issues that the Centers for Art, Culture and Tourism of the Cabildo are working on and with which it is intended to solve the problem of car queues in the Timanfaya National Park that, with the reactivation of tourism, have returned to this space, as confirmed by the CEO of the entity, Benjamín Perdomo.
Regarding the online ticket sales for all Tourist Centers, Perdomo stated that he hoped the platform would be up and running in July, although it was ultimately not possible. However, he pointed out that he is confident that "in two or three weeks it will be fully operational".
"With that process, I think the queues will decrease considerably in Timanfaya, because it is not a problem that we can serve more or less people, it is that in Timanfaya we cannot fit more cars and that is why the queues," said the CEO of the entity.
And it is that, although the Centers are recommending tourists to schedule their visit from 1:00 p.m., the truth is that most decide to go in the morning. Thus, what is intended with the online ticket sales is that many of those visits are scheduled for the afternoon. "If we had had the online sales application in a timely manner, by being able to schedule the times, we could have already diverted everyone", the councilor has acknowledged.
"No madness will be done, no five-story building"
Regarding the creation of a parking lot in the El Chinero area, it is an initiative that has been considered for years, but until now it has not been possible to implement it. However, Benjamín Perdomo has assured that he is working with National Parks to make it a reality.
The idea, as he explained, is to enable a parking lot "temporarily" that "relieves" the current one in the months with the highest number of visitors, which "are July, August and September". "No madness is going to be done, no underground five-story building, which is nonsense and breaking a national park, but to condition it so that people can park, take a shuttle bus, go to do the route, go back down, and also be able to observe the Chinero space, which is beautiful," said the CEO of the Tourist Centers.
"Then, the project that has to be the real one and the last one, which would be the next step because this would be a previous step, would be to take the cars out of Timanfaya and put a single parking lot in a place where you can put shuttle buses, that the cars are outside and that the visit is easy. But of course, this is a 40-year problem that I am not going to solve in two days, but it is true that I am already working to make El Chinero an auxiliary parking lot," he added.
With all this, Perdomo is confident that the queues in Timanfaya will end. "Because the queues are not produced by the capacity we have to work, which we have for that and more, but by the capacity of the parking lot, which is what delays everything, and we must move towards a quality visit," he said.
Opening of the Islote de Fermina
On the other hand, the CEO of the Centers has spoken about the Islote de Fermina. And it is that, although the Arrecife City Council announced that the facilities would open their doors on July 30, its opening has finally been delayed. "The City Council rushed", considers Benjamín Perdomo, who nevertheless guarantees that "there is little left" for the residents and visitors to enjoy this space.
According to what he explained, the delay in the opening has been due to the fact that the agreement has not yet been audited by the Cabildo and the Arrecife City Council. "Once the secretaries and auditors of the two institutions give their approval, because for us it is already audited and correct because we did it, it is signed and opened. Would we like to go faster? Yes, but the administrations have their times," he indicated.
In this regard, he has not given an opening date, but he has stated that he believes that "before the week or the next" the agreement will be signed to be able to open.
