A pioneering model for managing tourism around València Cathedral

The Universitat Politècnica de València (UPV), in collaboration with València Cathedral, has developed an innovative model based on digital technologies to help sustainably manage the growing flow of visitors to the Cathedral, one of the city's most iconic monuments.

In recent years, Valencia has seen a significant increase in tourism, particularly in its historic centre. The Cathedral has gone from receiving around 350,000 visitors before the pandemic to almost double that number by 2025, with a further increase expected in 2026 to mark the Jubilee Year of the Holy Chalice. "Given this scenario, and drawing on experience gained from previous projects in this area, there arose a need to implement new solutions that alert both to situations posing a risk to heritage assets and to situations of congestion and overcrowding in the historic urban environment," highlights María José Viñals, a researcher at the UPV's PEGASO Centre and an expert in heritage tourism management.

CO₂ sensors

One of the main innovations in the work to estimate and monitor visitor capacity within the Cathedral has been to use indoor air quality as a benchmark. To this end, sensors have been installed to measure CO₂ levels in real time in sensitive areas, including the Chapel of the Holy Chalice, the Museum, and the Archaeological Crypt.

"An excess of carbon dioxide in poorly ventilated spaces can affect people's health, and when combined with high levels of humidity, can cause chemical degradation in materials such as the limestone from which the Cathedral is built. "For this reason, constant monitoring of this gas is essential," notes José Manuel Gandia, deputy director of research at the School of Building Engineering.

Pioneering system for measuring footfall

The UPV's work has also enabled regular, precise estimates of footfall in the public spaces of Valencia's historic centre over almost three years, based on sensor monitoring of the streets of Miguelete and Barchilla, and, this year, Navellos Street.

One of the most significant studies was the analysis conducted on 19 March. Data from previous years indicated that on that day, footfall on Miguelete Street exceeded 215,000 people. "This analysis aimed to study in depth the movement that takes place within dense crowds: how people moved, at what speed, and how long it takes for this street to reach the saturation point and subsequent evacuation, to design risk management and prevention measures aimed at ensuring people's safety," explains Viñals.

To this end, drones, video cameras, and manual validation counts were used in a project involving more than twenty researchers and students from the UPV specialising in architecture, urban planning, heritage, sensor technology, geomatics, telecommunications, tourism, drones, and geographic information systems. "The drone team has proved very useful as it has enabled us, from static positions, to capture footage covering what is happening across entire streets and squares," notes Israel Quintanilla, director of the Master's in Unmanned Aerial Vehicle Systems at the UPV.

This work has revealed in detail how flows of people organise themselves spontaneously at critical moments in the historic centre of Valencia and has aroused the interest of Valencia City Council, as it could be applied to other iconic locations with large numbers of visitors, such as the area around the Lonja and the Central Market.

International benchmark

The work carried out at Valencia Cathedral and its urban surroundings by the team led by Professor Viñals has also attracted the attention of numerous academic institutions, universities, and heritage experts, positioning Valencia Cathedral as a pioneering benchmark at the national and international levels in sustainable visitor management.

"We are very pleased with the collaboration between the Cathedral and the UPV. The use of new technologies is enabling us to better understand visitor patterns and propose measures that enhance the comfort of our worshippers, pilgrims, and visitors," notes José Verdeguer, Heritage Officer of the Cathedral Chapter.

In this regard, Mª José Viñals also emphasises that the collaboration between the UPV and the Cathedral "has enabled us to turn research into sustainable solutions that foster social cohesion and innovation, allow for better heritage conservation and ensure the long-term preservation of this legacy," adds Viñals.

Furthermore, the positive results achieved have led this UPV working group to implement this methodological model at other heritage sites, such as the Pomier caves with their rock paintings in the Dominican Republic, included on UNESCO's Tentative List, and soon at the Rione Terra heritage site in Pozzuoli, near Naples.