Environmental officials warn tourism is straining Trakai’s nature

Environmental officials have raised concerns about the impact of growing tourism on nature in Trakai, while the Trakai district municipality says the situation is not catastrophic, LRT reported.

About 160,000 tourists visit Trakai each month, according to the municipality. Environmental experts warn that the increased visitor numbers are putting excessive pressure on transport infrastructure and raising concerns about the condition of the town’s lakes.

Many tourists explore Trakai, including its castle, by water. The Environmental Protection Department says increased recreational use of the lakes, shoreline development and growing water traffic are affecting their condition.

“The condition of the lakes is particularly concerning. It is affected by increased recreational use, shoreline development and the growing use of water transport,” said Tadeuš Ablačinskij, a representative of the Environmental Protection Department.

Environmental officials said waterfowl and shoreline vegetation were especially sensitive to the impact. Intensive recreation along the shores disrupts their habitats.

The municipality said the problem was real but insisted that the water bodies were not polluted. It said that when granting leases for piers used to provide boating services, it prioritised vessels with electric motors to avoid pollution.

The growing number of visitors is also increasing transport pollution. Karaimų Street has been reserved for pedestrians for about two years, but geographer Ričardas Skorupskas said traffic in Trakai remained unmanaged.

“At peak times, when there are more cars in the town than people relaxing there, Trakai becomes a car park. This is a sign that the traffic flow is not being managed,” Skorupskas said.

The Environmental Protection Department said the risk increased during the summer season, when visitor numbers rose sharply and exceeded the area’s potential capacity several times over. It called for visitor-flow management, sustainable recreation, protection of water quality, more responsible land-use planning and stricter construction controls.

“I would not say that Trakai is really approaching an environmental catastrophe,” said Dovilė Daudaitė, director of the Trakai district municipal administration.

Skorupskas said it was difficult to determine whether the situation had become critical because the necessary measurements were not being carried out in Trakai.

He said tourism was important to the town’s economy and generated revenue, but unmanaged recreation could ultimately destroy the qualities that attracted visitors. He added that popular recreational regions elsewhere had lost their quality and appeal through overuse.

The Environmental Protection Department also said reports of possible illegal logging in Trakai were increasing. There were more than 1,000 such reports last year and over 460 in the first five months of this year.