The inhabitants of the island of Tabarca, the only inhabited island in the Valencian Community, want fewer tourists in August with more visitors spread throughout the year, according to the president of the residents’ association ‘Tabarca Isla Plana’, Carmen Martín
Visitors number in their thousands during August which economically benefits the businesses on the islet, but for the inhabitants, the ideal would be for tourism to be “deseasonalised”, that is, for the influx to not only occur in August but more evenly distributed throughout the year because Tabarca has a heritage of high value that can be displayed in any month of the year.
This overcrowding of tourists can become a problem with an impact on aspects such as waste, since sometimes the rubbish is not deposited in the containers and both the town, and the sea end up dirty.
Martí has stated that with “civility and education” the hosting of visitors can be made compatible with daily life on the island and she has proposed that the council undertake an “awareness campaign” on the boats that travel to Tabarca, known as ‘tabarqueras’, where people will understand that it is also a valuable “marine reserve and that there is a walled town with a constant population”.
Among the elements to be protected and preserved she mentioned the mural in the port with the large sign of Tabarca, one of the spots where most photographs are taken, and the decorative boats used as planters by the sea by families of deceased fishermen in memory of their legacy.
