Tourists visiting Seville may soon have to pay a fee to explore the Spanish Steps, the city hall has announced as part of plans to control tourist overcrowding on public streets.
“
We plan to close the Plaza de España and make tourists pay to finance its conservation and security
,” wrote Mayor José Luis Sanz, a member of the Popular Party (PP), in a message on the social network , accompanied by a video showing missing tiles, damaged facades and street vendors occupying alcoves and staircases.
Featuring a semi-circular neo-Moorish palatial structure framed by tall towers at both ends and four bridges over a moat, the Plaza is part of a complex built for the 1929 Ibero-American Exposition, designed to reflect Spanishness in its architecture and tile decorations.
It is the second most visited site in the Andalusian capital behind the cathedral and in front of the Alcazar.
Third most visited city in Spain
Thousands of people from all over the world visit it daily, by horse-drawn carriage or on foot.
The structure served as the setting for the 1999 Star Wars franchise film
The Phantom Menace
and is also a hotspot for Seville's cultural life, hosting concerts, plays and fashion shows.
Although Sanz made it clear that local residents would still receive free access, many X users, including Sevillanos, were quick to criticize the plan.
“
This is how
Barcelona
began and today you pay 17 euros to visit Park Güell.
The public square belongs to everyone.
We already pay taxes for maintenance
,” one user wrote.
Another adds: “
In most countries around the world, public squares are just that: public.
I really want to go to Seville but if I have to pay to see a place, I just have to watch
Star Wars.”
With more than three million tourists per year and a population of 700,000 inhabitants, Seville is the third most visited city in Spain.
Tourism represents 13% of the GDP of the second most visited country in the world.
Many cities struggle to balance much-needed tourism with maintaining their appeal to residents.
Across the Mediterranean in Italy, Venice will introduce entry fees from April to limit the number of day-trippers.