Around 50 drivers operating tourist entertainment vehicles, including jeeps, tuk-tuks and adapted cars, gathered today outside Sintra Town Hall to protest against new traffic restrictions affecting their activity, announcing plans to file an injunction to halt the measures.
The demonstration, organised by the National Association of Tourist Entertainment Drivers (ANCAT), marks the second protest held in the historic town of Sintra since revised parking regulations came into force on 1st April.
By 5pm, roughly 50 tourism operators had assembled outside the Paços do Concelho municipal building, criticising what they described as a lack of dialogue from the local authority and voicing concern about the future of their sector.
“We want dialogue and joint solutions. It seems the only official body unwilling to engage in dialogue is the municipal council itself,” Inês Henriques, ANCAT’s secretary, told reporters.
Henriques criticised increased parking fees imposed on tourism operators and the closure of access roads to major monuments such as Quinta da Regaleira, Monserrate, and Seteais. She argued that the measures effectively aim to grant exclusive tourist transport circulation to a single collective transport operator.
According to Henriques, the association has already filed complaints with the Public Prosecutor’s Office and the Judicial Police and will proceed with a precautionary legal injunction challenging the restrictions.
Other tourism operators expressed similar frustration and uncertainty regarding the future of tourism activities in Sintra.
“We have absolutely no information about the future of our work here in Sintra,” said Alexandra Madeira, a tour guide working in the Lisbon region for the past 12 years. “What I cannot understand is why the rules are not clear and why a form of work that has existed here for years is suddenly being changed.”
She warned that the municipality’s restrictions jeopardise commitments made to clients, travel agencies, and partners, as well as investments already made in vehicle maintenance and insurance. Madeira said she currently has around 50 bookings scheduled until October whose viability is now uncertain.
“There has to be a legal and organised way of working. What makes no sense is removing the livelihood of an entire professional group overnight,” she said.
Tourism operator Vítor Santos, also present at the protest, argued that the measures could “radically affect” hundreds of businesses and thousands of workers dependent on the sector.
“A monopoly will destroy tourism activity. Sintra cannot belong to a private company, it must remain open to all operators working here,” he said.
Santos also warned of the impact on local residents, claiming that some roads traditionally used by the local population are now subject to restrictions.
“Many tourists come to Sintra not for a monopoly bus service but for the experience of a guided visit, experiencing not only Sintra and its historic monuments, but also its natural landscape and coastline,” he added.
Protesters said they remain open to institutional dialogue but warned that further demonstrations could follow if the municipality refuses to meet them.
Asked for comment on the protest, a source from Sintra Municipal Council said only that the rules “are there to be followed”.
“The council places the protection of Sintra’s residents, workers and visitors above all else. There are rules, and they must be respected,” said an official spokesperson for the municipal executive led by Social Democratic mayor Marco Almeida.
The changes, approved by Sintra Municipal Council on 10th March, abolished dedicated parking zones previously reserved for tourist entertainment vehicles with up to nine seats, as well as the associated signage and parking regulation regime.
In exchange, the municipal parking company EMES has pledged to offer operators registered under the National Register of Tourist Entertainment Agents (RNAAT) monthly parking permits costing €100, granting access to all limited-duration parking zones and the João de Deus car park.
ANCAT has rejected the proposal, describing it as what it considers to be the “extortion” of tourist entertainment drivers compared with other local traders operating in Sintra.
Source: LUSA
