ALICANTE – Hotel and restaurant owners in Alicante are furious with the municipality as it has decided to carry out works to improve the promenade during the high tourism season this summer.
The four-lane thoroughfare of Paseo de los Martires de la Libertad will be closed. This has been met with “disbelief and anger” by the Provincial Association of Hotels and Tourist Accommodations of Alicante (APHA) and the Association of Leisure and Restaurateurs of Alicante (Alroa).
Without consultation with the tourism sector
The APHA complains that this municipal decision was made “without consultation with the tourism industry”. They see the improvement of the coastline as a positive development. However, they do not agree with the timing of the complete closure of traffic. Therefore, they insist that “the intervention takes into account the tourism function and the costs in terms of image”.
“It is unacceptable that during the height of the tourist season, when record occupancies are expected, the busiest area of the city is closed to traffic,” they assure Alicante Plaza.
Sector warns of possible cancellations
The same organisation criticises that a tourist town “cannot afford to ruin the holiday experience of thousands of visitors. Tourists will face all kinds of difficulties in reaching their accommodations and enjoying the centre of Alicante. The consequences of such a drastic decision could lead to a wave of cancellations, which would greatly thwart the expectations of Alicante’s summer campaign”.
Less traffic because of the school holidays
The municipality thinks the work during those months is appropriate. This is because there will be much less traffic due to the school holidays. For the inhabitants of Alicante, it is a favourable period to carry out the work.
The works started on December 28, 2022, with a budget of €1.9 million and an initial period of six months. With the variant now to be introduced, the intervention is expected to be completed by the end of August.
