Spain has slapped tourists with strict new restrictions in a hidden gem holiday hotspot. European Union holiday hotspot Cantabria is preventing tourists from ruining its forests and patrimony, and how in four Spanish provinces foreigners are buying a third of all properties.
Cantabria is warning climate change makes more of Spain ‘unliveable’ and town halls have started to prepare for what’s coming. Last August, more than 800 people visited a unique sequoia forest in the municipality of Cabezón de la Sal on a daily basis.
Now authorities have decided to take it one step further in a bid to prevent Europe’s biggest sequoia forest from suffering the impact of mass tourism. They will limit access to the forest from the two access roads and it will be necessary to book a visit beforehand.
READ MORE Millions of drivers will wake up to £145 bill next week at ‘worst possible time’
Only 300 to 350 daily tourists will be allowed to visit. Similar steps have been taken at the Faro del Caballo in Santoña, also in Cantabria. In recent months, there have been anti-tourism demonstrations across Spain and the Balearic Islands, with locals protesting and graffitiing walls with the slogan “tourists go home”.
Laura San Miguel, guide at the Oyambre Natural Park, acknowledged tourists have grown “fascinated” by the forest but added how this had led to many picking bark from these magnificent trees leaving terrible marks in the European Union holiday destination,
Speaking to El Diario news, she explained how the bark of these trees, which were normally “very compact, rough, cracked and spongy to the touch” has now become “smooth” as more and more UK holidaymakers flock to the region and destination.
The constant picking has even meant many locals have resorted to hanging up signs pleading with tourists to stop picking off pieces of bark and to also stop themselves from hugging the massive sequoias.
This post was originally published on here
