The natural environment of Torrevieja: a safe bet in tourism diversification

Torrevieja is one of the municipalities with the most guided routes in natural parks in our Community, with a total of 32 annual itineraries. Located in the Alicante region of Vega Baja del Segura, it is one of the most important tourist enclaves in the Valencian Community, usually associated with the image of sun and beach and residential tourism, with a large presence of foreign citizens residing throughout the year, in addition to the high number of national and foreign visitors who annually choose this destination to enjoy their vacation periods, which translates into intensive use of the territory for leisure and recreational activities.

The first guided route in the Natural Park will take place on Sunday, February 4. With 4 different types, these routes have become a reference in the enhancement of the environmental heritage of the region, with great acceptance among the local population and visitors. As a novelty, on March 17, guided tours will begin at the Municipal Natural Park of Molino del Agua, in La Mata, offering 250 places a year to visit this Protected Natural Area next to the Mediterranean Sea.

Environmental Education activities and workshops will be carried out in educational centers in Torrevieja for all students from 3rd to 6th grade of primary education, estimating a participation of more than 3,500 schoolchildren each year.

9 days of education and environmental information will be carried out on beaches and coves from north to south of Torrevieja in the summer season, the first one starting on July 3.

But along with the tourist reality of the municipality, it also has a high variety of habitats in its territory that has led to the presence of a set of environmental values of great importance and uniqueness. Its nearly 20 kilometers of coastline present an alternation of tourist beaches and small coves where we find areas with the presence of dune ridges as well as Posidonia oceanica meadows and cetaceans in the marine environment in addition to the well-known environmental wealth of the Lagunas de La Lagunas Natural Park. Mata and Torrevieja, salt marsh areas associated with these or crop plots, highlighting those of traditional vineyards in the first of the lagoons, along with some areas of pine forest and Mediterranean forest.

All these areas, together with the rest of the municipality, make the natural environment of Torrevieja an ideal setting for the development of guided hiking activities, interpretation of heritage and environmental education, which combine the enhancement of the environmental and cultural values present. in it with the need to enjoy them with respect and sustainability, both by the local population and visitors as well as by the educational community, generating awareness about the extraordinary value of the municipality where they live or are visiting.

A good proof of the opportunity that this program represents is the number of people who will participate in it through the recently awarded environmental services contract, in which both participants in the Heritage interpretation outings in the Protected Natural Spaces or in the workshops on beaches and coves as Primary Education students attending multimedia talks and workshops in schools. It is estimated that more than 31,000 people will participate in these activities in the 4 years (plus one extension) of the contract.

Such a high number of participants is a unique opportunity to share the importance of the natural environment of Torrevieja, the environmental problems that affect it and the actions carried out by the institution to correct them, as well as to change the perception that Our land has the local population and visitors through the determined enhancement of our protected natural spaces and the important Heritage they house.