163 Madeira Consorcio meeting 24.10.2026
Oct 26, 2026 at 12:23 pm | Posted in Posts | Leave a commentTags: Consorcio, Madeira, overtourism, Portugal
We met in the Gallery and saw this video:
The speaker discusses the downside that over-tourism can also have on the travellers, and what destinations can do to broaden the appeal of the destination by emphasizing other, not so well known attractions.
Information on Florence:
https://etias.com/articles/florence-bans-key-boxes,-loudspeakers-to-fight-overtourism
Information on Kopenhagen:
“The thinking behind this initiative is to shift the visitor’s mindset from being a passive consumer to becoming an active participant.
And as we know, people visit places to see and experience something different. Tourists generally enjoy experiences when they are involved in co-creation of their experiences.When tourists actively engage in experiences by participating in activities for which they will be rewarded, they are also likely to make a conscious effort to leave a lighter footprint on the destination they visit.This initiative is a win-win situation which benefits tourists as well as the communities which they visit. There are gains for the environment, local communities and the economy.Furthermore, this initiative helps to redistribute tourist flows and reduce pressure on overburdened places by chanelling tourist flows to areas where visitors will engage in their reward activities“
Some years ago, a visit to the “Madeira Story Centre” was promoted in the arrival baggage claim area with a box which made rounds in the baggage conveyor belts, next to the travellers bags. The Story Centre (belonged to Blandy) wasn’t successful, perhaps due to the price tag but all arrivals had the information right under their noses. However, arrivals have too much stress to register it at the time, intent on getting their bags and a bus or rental car to the hotel. Initiatives to un-crunch popular tourist spots have to start in the hotels.
We do have alternatives which offer the travellers interesting experiences. Claudia Gomes used to run a boat with her husband out of Calheta port; they teamed up with a fisherman on sea when he brought up espada from the deep. https://www.lobosonda.com/
But such nice experiences, if not promoted by an influencer, are not impactful enough to get the tourists to stay away from the overcrowded places.
Excursion buses from the big hotels and the cruise ships have to arrange their schedules so that not all tourists are dumped in the same spots at the same time. We as residents know that if we go up to Monte at 16h, the tourists will almost all be gone already.
We also spoke about the long term rental situation that is getting more and more out of hand. The rent should not be more that 30% of a net income, but the minium wage increases cannot keep up with the greed of landlords to get the maximum of money for their apartments. Rental prices should be capped but that would mean that the government would have to do somthing…
Many well known tourist destinations have been destroyed for the residents (unaffordable prices) and the tourists (Cascais). The places lose their charm and are left aside. Tourists have to be educated to accept lesser known attractions on the island. We have more than 200 levadas, they are only aware of around 15 of the most popular walks
Travellers should be more involved like in the Kopenhagen example. On Madeira, tourists could also help with tree plantation (but not on Pico Areeiro in January brrrr…) The toboggans could use two stretches on the old railway road, down from Terreiro da Luta to Monte, and the known stretch, This might need more basked drivers.
Madeira was again voted to be the best island destination, this will not help. We will have more income from tourism but also more predictable problems.
Other stuff:
“Madeira Immersive Experience“ is in Curral das Freiras, a video + 3 D experience, about the history of Madeira, a balloon trip and an immersion in the ocean, all with virtual headsets and equipment (as of 14 years) Price 14 € adults. https://meivr.pt/en
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