Sintra residents protest against ‘mass tourism and traffic chaos’

The QSintra association has come up with an initiative that includes banners on windows and balconies and posters in the windows of shops, restaurants and cafes, demanding that the city council take action against “mass tourism and traffic chaos”.

In its statement, QSintra – In Defense of a Unique Place refuses to allow the city to become “just an overcrowded amusement park,” questioning its character as a “unique place.”

Thus, “in view of the loss of quality of life, constant traffic congestion and the accelerated declassification of the territory listed as a World Heritage Site”, the association took action.

“We want Sintra to be alive and inhabited, not mass tourism!” is one of the slogans written on banners and posters placed in the historic centre.

In tandem with the street protests, QSintra released a manifesto, “Sintra Belongs to Everyone and Needs Everyone,” with six demands: community revitalization and an improved quality of life for residents; greater discretion and latitude in urban planning and management; quality tourism rather than quantity; combating “over-reliance” on tourism; restoring and preserving nature, calling for “stricter regulations and oversight that preserve the landscape, forests and coastline”; and the creation of a specialized structure to manage Sintra’s cultural landscape.

QSintra notes that “tourism is important for Sintra, but it cannot be a factor that leads to the disqualification of the landscape and its depopulation” and cannot harm the daily life of residents.

The association also calls for a “systematic review of all major projects” of new hotels, real estate and commercial spaces to “assess their impact on the landscape, ecosystem, mobility and human life.”

Sintra “has all the conditions to become a cultural centre of high quality and global scope in areas with potential, such as music, literature, cinema, fine arts, crafts and handicrafts, gastronomy,” the association believes.