Seville has become accustomed to appearing in top lists of top tourist destinations or places to live. The latest one was from the British newspaper The telegraph which on October 12th chose it as the third best city in the world, after Paris and New Orleans. The same newspaper presented this week, in its London office, to the Tourism delegate of the Municipality of Seville, the award for best European city of the year, awarded this summer. The reasons: urban excellence, heritage, sustainability and quality of life in Seville. However, attributes with which many Sevillians, increasingly, do not agree with these praises. They believe this causes a dangerous complacency that prevents solving the urgent problems of citizens who see how tourism is tarnishing their way of life.
“It is a source of pride for all Sevillians and an example of the enormous work that the Municipality is carrying out to position our city as a world reference point in tourism, culture and quality of life,” said the delegate for Tourism, Angie Moreno, when The telegraph In the middle of last month it chose the Andalusian capital as the third best destination in the world. “Stop reading and go”, headlines the newspaper, which highlights the orange trees, the Alcázar – “which you have seen in game of Thrones”-, the Plaza de España, Las Setas, the flamenco tablaos, the tapas and the way the command is still written in chalk on the counter, or the Cruzcampo beer.
No reference to other problems such as tourist overcrowding, affordable housing, traffic jams, poor communications due to lack of infrastructure, construction work or dirt, recurring themes in the conversations of Sevillians. “These rankings are full of complacency and support a business that turns its back on the majority of the city in favor of lobby tourists: restaurants, bars, hotels, which is a very important sector for the city, but we cannot count on this 100% and forget the rest of the citizens who suffer the consequences of this excessive tourism,” warns David López, president of the Sevilla se Muere platform.
“That The telegraph Presenting yourself as a favorite destination has a lot of weight, but many times what works best is word of mouth, it is the best source of recommendation”, says Manuel Cormax, president of the Hotel Association of Seville and Province, Manuel Cormax, regarding the economic impact of the appearance of the capital of Seville in the lists of the best cities to visit. The entrepreneur believes that the leading positions occupied by Seville have to do with the work that the sector has carried out in recent years and “which is now reaping its fruits”. dies of success and mass tourism scares away visitors, as is happening in Venice “We need to attract a high-end clientele. standingto spend more money and promote new destinations in the city, so they can extend their stay,” he argues.
The professor of Economics at the University of Seville, José Ignacio Castillo, who coordinates the latest issue of Spanish economic documentsdedicated to the challenges and opportunities of the Spanish tourism sector, warns of the “change in trend due to the growing inflation of demand for hospitality and hospitality services, despite the fact that the supply of accommodation and hospitality has not stopped growing”. In his article, Castillo defends the need to develop a new tourism policy “more focused on the social challenges arising from overtourism and less in achieving new visitor records.”
This is why María José del Rey, president of the Santa Cruz neighborhood association, supports him, as it is the one that suffers most from the consequences of mass tourism in the Andalusian capital. “Every time a news story comes out that Seville is a wonderful tourist destination, the Administration relaxes, and for us it is not convenient. There are many things to do to improve the integration of the tourist with the resident. And we must also improve the tourist space”, he warns.
