Toledo, an ancient city set on set on a hill above the plain of Castilla - La Mancha in central Spain, known for its outstanding medieval Arab, Christian and Jewish monuments in its unique walled old city, a centre which boasts a rich cultural and monumental heritage that earned it UNESCO World Heritage status through its City Council will limit groups od travellers to no more than thirty people to curb mass tourism.
The city council is finalizing a regulation of tourist activity in the city and according to its Councillor for Tourism, José Velasco apart to reduce the number of travellers of large groups this move will be also useful to facilitate the work of guides and avoid the agglomeration in the streets. On the other hand, although with a ceiling of 30 people, the number of groups is not limited.
In addition the municipality of Toledo prohibits megaphones and other types of loudspeakers after 11 p.m. and tour groups can not block entrances, exits, walkways, or roads.
The city also council imposes itself the obligation to only grant one tourist bus license and one tourist train license. This rule is useless because the city council can limit itself to granting these license without the need for a rule since it is its decision. Likewise, this rule, which is perfectly repealed, cannot be imposed on a future council.
Toledo declared a World Heritage Site by UNESCO, usually receives large numbers of visitors who are dispersed by its urban fabric, very limited for the volume of travellers and the popularity of the destination and decided to apply new regulations in the historic centre to address overtourism.
In a normal year, the city receives about two million visitors, which explains the situation of saturation in which it finds itself at many times. This is especially noticeable in some specific points such as the Balaguer passage and the iconic town hall square.
These measures are part of Toledo’s effort to combat overtourism, a problem also experienced in other popular Spanish destinations and by controlling visitor numbers and behaviour, the city aims to reduce the negative impact of mass tourism, such as congestion and overcrowding.
The regulations are intended to protect the historic character of the city, which residents feel is becoming a “museum for tourists”.
Finally, the city will also create a Tourism Council that aims to be a meeting place for actors in the sector to detect their concerns and study the evolution and impact of the regulations that are going to be introduced.
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