“It is necessary” to connect the historic center of Lorca with the castle and the Department of Tourism is studying the viability of three proposals that make it possible. It was revealed to LA VERDAD by councilor Santiago Parra, who explained that the first is a cable car that would have its base in Cabezo Las Palas, on municipally owned land with an area of one thousand square meters. It is located near Corredera Street and would connect with the citadel by flying over the roofs and terraces of the San Roque and San Pedro neighborhoods, which would need to be cleaned up, he clarified. Another alternative is to place escalators on the slope of the San Juan neighborhood, close to the visitor center, which would lead to the San Juan church.
The third proposal handled by the Lorca City Council is to install an elevator, with the construction of a tunnel that would start from the old warehouses of the Canales del Taibilla Association in the Santa María neighborhood, taking advantage of an old cave in the area to drive to visitors to the National Tourism Parador. This last option began to be considered in 2014 and was finally discarded due to its high cost and technical difficulty, since underground drilling could affect the stability of the rock mass on which the citadel sits.
Parra said that he is in contact with the Historic Center Forum, from which some of the proposals have come from, and the technical possibilities, environmental impact, safety and cost will be thoroughly analyzed with specialized companies to make a decision because they are “very economically ambitious” and “require large investments.” He stressed, however, that “none of them are crazy.”
Injection of 2.7 million
The Councilor for Tourism explained that the Tourism Sustainability Plan, endowed with 2.7 million euros from Next Generation European funds, will give an important boost to the castle, because 40% of the investment will be made in the citadel.
He detailed among the actions that will see the light of day from 2024 onwards, the creation of a new time cabin in the Lorca Taller del Tiempo theme park to replace the one that took visitors back to medieval times and which was left unusable by the 2011 earthquakes. The vegetation and other infrastructure of the fortified enclosure, energy efficiency and visitor reception will also be improved and digitalization will be undertaken with mupis, totems and new audiovisual resources.
In addition, the two tourist trains that run on diesel will be replaced by electric ones. Likewise, the 'Visit Lorca' mobile application will also be created to consult tourist, cultural, sports, leisure and commerce activities that take place in the city.
The sustainability plan is now beginning to materialize, because the local Government Board is approving the first contracts for its implementation. The maximum execution period for all actions will be March 31, 2026 and it is planned to create a technical office to monitor the sustainability plan. It will be equipped with human resources, which will be added to the staff of the municipal tourism office, to promptly address the projects and meet the set objectives.
According to Parra, the city will enter a “great moment” this year because “we have great opportunities that if we are able to take advantage of” can cause “a qualitative leap” in terms of tourism and culture. The imminent opening of the Guevara palace museum and the reopening of the bullring, with four gastronomic spaces and two museums, one bullfighting and another dedicated to the world of flamenco, will also contribute to achieving this objective.
A strategic plan will set new objectives for the municipality
The Tourism Institute of the Region of Murcia has granted the City Council a subsidy of 36,000 euros for a specialized company to carry out a strategic tourism plan, which should be the “definitive push” for Lorca to realize its potential and position itself as a tourist destination. reference, said its director, Juan Francisco Martínez. It will be “our roadmap,” highlighted the Councilor for Tourism, Santiago Parra, because it will establish a diagnosis and set objectives.
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