THE ROYAL SITE OF SAN LORENZO DE EL ESCORIAL PROBLEMS, AREAS OF IMPROVEMENT AND SUSTAINABLE TOURISM DEVELOPMENT (PART 2)

After having identified the problems and areas for improvement, in this part the information obtained will be presented and analyzed, which will allow to determine if they correspond to those indicated in the first part. The information comes from texts and academic articles, publications of entities and public bodies (National Heritage, General Directorate of Tourism of the Community of Madrid, City Council of San Lorenzo de El Escorial and its Tourist Office, National Institute of Statistics ...), neighborhood associations (Neighbors for San Lorenzo de El Escorial), interviews with residents and articles published in local and regional media , as well as different internet sources (social networks, blogs, reviews on travel portals... etc.). To this is added the information obtained thanks to the field work. It will also be proposed to hold a conference to determine the current situation and propose lines of action so that San Lorenzo de El Escorial can continue to be a sustainable tourist destination.


Introduction
After having identified the problems and areas for improvement, in this part the information obtained will be presented and analyzed, which will allow to determine if they correspond to those indicated in the first part. The information comes from texts and academic articles, publications of entities and public bodies (National Heritage, General Directorate of Tourism of the Community of Madrid, City Council of San Lorenzo de El Escorial and its Tourist Office, National Institute of Statistics ...), neighborhood associations (Neighbors for San Lorenzo de El Escorial), interviews with residents and articles published in local and regional media , as well as different internet sources (social networks, blogs, reviews on travel portals... etc.). To this is added the information obtained thanks to the field work. It will also be proposed to hold a conference to determine the current situation and propose lines of action so that San Lorenzo de El Escorial can continue to be a sustainable tourist destination.

Search and analysis of information
Regarding the information obtained on the current situation of tourism in San Lorenzo de El Escorial and on the points that could be improved to offer an adequate experience to potential visitors, it has been obtained from various sources, which are: • academic texts and articles • publications of entities and public bodies such as National Heritage 1 , the General Directorate of Tourism of the Community of Madrid 2 , the City Council of San Lorenzo de El Escorial 3 and its Local Tourism Office 4 • neighborhood associations constituted in local political parties 5 • written media mainly at local and regional level 6,7 • various internet sources such as social networks, blogs or reviews on travel portals 8 • personal observations resulting from fieldwork carried out on site Below will be a brief summary and analysis of each of the sources of information consulted to determine their suitability for the case under study.

Academic texts and articles
Among the various academic texts consulted, in general it could be said that most are limited to exposing different aspects and problems derived from tourist activity in historical nuclei such as Toledo, Avila or Salamanca and, to a lesser extent, others that deal specifically with the different Royal Sites and their characteristics. that has passed, many of the problems identified by Minguez Garcia persist, or have even increased due to the dereliation of functions in tourism matters of successive municipal governments in the municipality. Problems such as the lack of parking and its excessive price, or the lack of cleanliness in the streets, continue to be a source of complaints from both visitors and residents and, despite the good intentions expressed by the various local governments 9 , the desired results are still not seen. To obtain data and statistical information related to various aspects of tourist activity, it is useful to visit the website of the Institute of Statistics of the Community of Madrid 11 .

Publications of public entities and bodies
In the case of National Heritage publications, it is worth mentioning its quarterly magazine Royal Sites 12 , which, since 1964, has collected various articles of interest related to the Royal Sites and on various topics (restoration, art, history, culture, management, etc.). Perhaps more interesting for our objective is the 2017-2021 National Heritage Action Plan, which includes the current lines of action undertaken by National Heritage for the management, promotion, restoration and events to be carried out in that period. It is possible to consult and download the full text at the National Heritage website 13 . 10 https://www.comunidad.madrid/publicamadrid 11 http://www.madrid.org/iestadis/ 12 https://www.patrimonionacional.es/actos-oficiales-culturales/publicaciones 13 https://www.patrimonionacional.es/la-institucion/plan-de-actuacion where it is possible to find brochures, tourist guides, videos and free mobile applications.

Neighborhood associations
In San Lorenzo de El Escorial, Neighbors for San Lorenzo de El Escorial stand out, an association recently converted into a local political party. Leaving aside political tendencies, it is necessary to recognize his work to make known, both residents and visitors, some issues that must be improved to maintain the sustainability of the municipality as a top tourist destination. On its website 14 it is possible to find interviews with different residents and various articles which refer to some of the problems that afflict the town as a tourist destination, such as the lack of cleanliness.
However, and although in many of their publications they accurately reflect the situation of the municipality, on other occasions, and especially after having become a political group, they reflect a certain lack of veracity that makes it advisable to take the information they provide with caution, and it should be reliably contrasted through fieldwork.

1.4.Written media
It is where more information about the state of tourism in San Lorenzo de El Escorial, as well as the municipality, can be found, especially in the regional written media and, to a lesser extent, in the national press. One of the biggest concerns of residents and many visitors is the evident lack of cleaning and maintenance by the municipal corporation, and although the new local government that emerged from the local elections of April 2019 has expressed in the media its intention to solve the problem as soon as possible, it is far from having been solved at the time these lines are written.
Other complaints from both residents and visitors have been picked up by the media, such as the shortage of parking spaces and their abusive prices, as well as the recent charge to ecological vehicles 15 .
Likewise, the waste of public money in public facilities such as the "Teresa Berganza" Theater Auditorium in San Lorenzo de El Escorial, whose performance has proven to be completely insufficient over the years, with seasons in which there have only been four performances. Even the honoree herself, the famous mezzo-soprano Teresa Berganza, is very critical of the limited use that is given to the venue in an interview with the newspaper Aqui en la Sierra on November 7, 2018 16 .

Internet sources
Thanks to the consultation of tourism portals such as TripAdvisor and the like, visitors' comments about the municipality can be read, which are useful to know their opinion.
However, since they are personal opinions, due to their subjectivity it is necessary to take many of them with reservations. Complaints about the lack of parking, its prices and the lack of cleanliness stand out once again.
Likewise, once prominent establishments such as the well-known Hotel Miranda Suizo, until not many years ago a meeting place for intellectuals and artists who came to taste their "chocolate with croutons", are not spared from criticism. It seems that, unfortunately, laziness in terms of cleanliness is dangerously spreading, even to hotel establishments, which negatively affects the municipality as a tourist destination.

Fieldwork
It is essential to contrast information gathered by other means. It allows us to verify firsthand whether many of the complaints expressed about the problems affecting the municipality are true or simply unsubstantiated. Unfortunately, much of the complaints are substantiated for years, especially, and even at the risk of being repetitive, the issue of the lack of cleanliness and maintenance of the municipality, as well as parking.
For this purpose, a photographic dossier was included in the first part where it is possible to see from the objective perspective of a camera (although it is possible to argue that the camera sometimes reflects what we want to show), that this is a subject that, unfortunately, has not yet been addressed with the seriousness that it should by any of the local governments in office. Also, conversations held with neighbors, reflect the same concerns about the sloppiness that plagues the town despite the high taxes of all kinds that are met annually.

Conference " San Lorenzo in the future: challenges and solutions for a Royal Site"
As part of this work, it is proposed to hold a conference where various participants will address the current situation of San Lorenzo de El Escorial as a tourist destination, areas for improvement and possible solutions that allow the sustainability of tourism in the municipality.

Location
The conference would take place in an emblematic center for San Lorenzo de El Escorial, the Euroforum "Palacio de los Infantes" 17 , where important events such as the Summer Courses of the Complutense University of Madrid are held between the months of June and July of each year. The Euroforum "Palacio de los Infantes" was created with the intention of making the municipality a reference for the celebration of events, meetings and congresses.

Dates
In order to address measures arising from the exchange of ideas between the participants, as well as having sufficient time to evaluate their viability and subsequent application before the beginning of the tourist season in the municipality, which usually begins in April and lasts until September, the dates of celebration are considered on January 23 and 25, 2020.

Issues to be dealt with
• cleaning and maintenance: it is an issue that concerns neighbors and visitors, and that requires an effective and definitive solution, since it gives a negative image of the municipality. It is proposed to carry out awareness campaigns among both neighbors and visitors.
• parking: it is another of the issues that generates more complaints among residents and visitors due to its scarcity and excessive price. A possible solution would be the creation of new free parking spaces in external areas not far from the historic centre. It would help avoid car crowds on the streets, especially during weekends and holiday periods. Also, as there is more provision of parking, prices would be reduced.
• cooperation agreements between the city council of San Lorenzo de El Escorial and National Heritage: the lack of understanding between both organizations has caused disagreements that in no way favor the development of tourism activity in the municipality. On the other hand, when both have collaborated in the realization and promotion of events, the results have been very positive.
• support for tourism entrepreneurship: the decline of the municipality's businesses due to high taxes are disconcenting the creation of entrepreneurial initiatives that would revitalize the socioeconomic situation of the municipality and contribute to the attraction of potential visitors.
• promotion of the municipality in the media in collaboration with the Community of Madrid to avoid the waste of public money on large investments whose usefulness is debatable.