“Tourism has brought development and visibility to our municipality, but it has also brought real pressures that we feel every day,” stated the mayor.
The mayor of Grândola was one of the speakers at the opening session of the World Tourism Day Conference, held in Tróia, a locality within the Alentejo region of the Setúbal district.
According to the mayor, Tróia is experiencing a new wave of investments and “there is a legitimate expectation from the community and local institutions that this investment will translate into balanced projects that bring employment, innovation, and respect for the environment.”
“In the 1970s, when environmental concerns were absent, there was a plan for mass development, with proposals to build over 120,000 tourist beds along the entire coastal stretch of the Grândola municipality,” said António Figueira Mendes.
The mayor noted that it was during the democratic era that the Municipality of Grândola had to halt this “unrestrained advance and place environmental preservation and quality of life at the forefront of its priorities.”
“The Alentejo is today a brand of quality, built over time and with identity. It is recognition that puts us on the international map, but also reinforces the responsibility to act with prudence and future vision,” he argued.
Figueira Mendes confirmed that the municipality approved “a reduction of about 40% in the number of beds” that was planned for the municipality, and that a “high-pressure tourist zone was created to curb the construction of developments along the coast, directing growth inland.”
The conference, themed “Tourism is Portugal,” took place in the afternoon, organized by the Portuguese Tourism Confederation (CTP), in a hotel unit in Tróia.
The opening session also featured a speech by Prime Minister Luís Montenegro, among other notable figures.
