Hiking Quota for Residents
Residents could be face restricted access to hiking trails in Madeira, because they will soon be required to book hiking time slots through Simplifica. Eduardo Jesus explained that a quota has been set aside specifically for residents, ensuring they will not be “left out of the possibility of using the mountain“. But ironically, thats exactly what will be happening, only that residents won’t be competing with tourists, but with themselves.
There is a defined quota for residents, and no resident will be left out of the possibility of using the mountain for that reason (Existe uma cota definida para o residente e nenhum residente ficará de fora da possibilidade de utilizar a montanha por essa razão.)
Eduardo Jesus RTP Madeira
The key issue is that the statement is political language, not a technical description of how the system works.
When it says:
no resident will be left out of the possibility of using the mountain for that reason
He is not saying that every resident will always get the exact day or time they want. What he means - and what the system actually allows - is this:
Residents will not be excluded because tourists took all the slots.
The quota guarantees that some access is always reserved for residents, so they are not pushed out by tourists.
However:
If a specific time slot within the reserved quota is full, a resident can be excluded for that time slot, simply because other residents booked first
The Resident must then choose another time slot or another day
That exclusion is due to capacity and safety limits, not their resident status
So yes, strictly speaking:
A resident can be prevented from accessing a hiking trail if the resident quota is full -then there is no possibility for him to hike.
The secretary’s phrase refers to access in principle, not access at any chosen moment. This kind of wording reassures the public, but it simplifies the operational reality.
A more precise version would have been:
No resident will be excluded from access because of tourist demand, although time slots for residents are just as limited.
It would also be interesting how high the resident quota is. Will it be 50% or more like 5%? It could be reasonable to assume a lower number. If you know more, let us know in the comments!
Source: RTP Madeira
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