SEVILLE – Seville is trying to avoid the fate of Barcelona and other Spanish cities overwhelmed by tourism by drawing visitors to its lesser-known attractions.
Business leaders in the southern Andalusian city want to avoid the “Barcelona effect”, which has led to local fury and repeated protests against unsustainable tourist numbers, by showing tourists Seville’s less famous sites.
Tourism chiefs hope to attract visitors away from the historical centre where the Real Alcázar, Seville Cathedral and the Santa Cruz area attract tourists year round.
The island of La Cartuja, La Macarena neighbourhood and other sights along the Nervion river are not as widely visited. Outside the city, La Doñana national park and the Sierra Morena offer holidaymakers the chance to see wildlife not far from Seville.
Manuel Cornax, president of the Association of Hoteliers for the Seville Province, said the Spanish often mistakenly believed British tourists were only interested in sun and beach holidays.
“We have always erroneously identified the British tourist with sun and sea holidays but there are many opportunities for them in urban tourism. The image that we have often is that Spain is a country only of sol y playa [sun and beach] but there is much more to it than that.
Isla de la Cartuja on the Nervion river in Seville (Photo: Prisma/Universal Images Group via Getty Images)“I love the fact that lots of British tourists come with their cameras or telescopic lens to enjoy the wildlife or flora in Doñana.”
Cornax said tourism authorities in Seville were trying to show visitors new parts of the city to avoid overcrowding in the centre, something that has plagued cities like Barcelona.
“The situation between Barcelona and Seville is very different. Seville has a historic centre which is very big. We are trying to find places which are outside the historical centre,” he told The i Paper.
“We are trying to avoid a repeat of what has happened in other popular tourist cities in Europe.”
Cornax said Seville did not want a type of tourism that interfered with the lives of residents. He said their tourism model should preserve the history of the city.
Tourist chiefs hope to attract visitors to the Doñana national park outside the city (Photog: Pablo Escuder Cano/ Getty Images/iStockphoto)“The country which receives tourists which does not safeguard its authenticity is doomed to failure,” he added.
Seville attracted about 3.9 million tourists last year, with British tourists making up the fourth largest group of foreign visitors, according to figures from Prodetur, an organisation of the Seville provincial government.
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Jorge Robles del Salto, president of the Seville Association of Tourism Companies, said Seville had many other areas that were “practically unknown” to visitors.
“We are a long way from being Barcelona even though it is high season now in October. Seville is not a city which is saturated by tourism. But we must control the noise made by tourists as much as possible and licences [of tourist establishments],” he said.
“Seville is a destination of quality tourism. In general tourists who come here are respectful of the city. We are all tourists at some time and we have to be conscious of that.”
Robles said there had been some protests by residents against the size of tourist groups in popular areas such as Santa Cruz.
“There are not great problems because we listen to their concerns and we solve these problems through dialogue and not confrontation,” he said.
Five lesser-known places in Seville:
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