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“The municipality collapsed, I had a bad time.” The one who speaks is Luis Viejomayor of Br. 3,000 inhabitantsthe overwhelming success of his lavender fields. When plants bloom, in summer, Brihuega is filled with hectares and hectares of violet petals that in turn drag tens of thousands of visitors anxious to achieve the Selfie perfect.
That is a blessing that leaves money in the town; But also a curse when, as the mayor acknowledges, the influx of tourists leaves the mother.
What happened? That the mayor of Brihuega has recognized that the success of his lavender fields has a difficult face to manage. A few days ago, during An interview With the newspaper ABCOld boast of the attractiveness of his town, but also begged visitors who try not to collapse their streets. “We have a wide tourist, cultural and artistic offer for lavender”, He stressed The councilor. “Of course, I advise you to come to visit us from Monday to Friday, please. On weekends it is more complicated by the large number of people coming.”
“I had a bad time”. The mayor does not stay there and recognizes that he has come to see saturation with concern. “Last Saturday, without going any further, the municipality collapsed. I had a bad time,” remember In reference to the 12th. To prevent episodes like this again, in addition to asking tourists to distribute throughout the week, old plans to speed up local transport. “We have to make a deterrent parking on the outskirts of the historic center and connect it with shuttle buses.”
The data: 1,000 ha. The tourist success of Brihuega has little mystery: what this small town in Guadalajara has turned into a tourist phenomenon are its lavender fields. The area presumes to have 1,000 hectares of plantations full of flowers that distils to extract essences that are dedicated, for example, to the elaboration of perfumes. “With a lot of meticulousness, we collect millions of purple flowers that will then be distilled in the barrage,” he clarifies. Before the fields offer a unique stamp: a vast horizon of violet petals.
FACE A, FACE B. Brihuega’s case is interesting because it reflects the “face A and B” of tourist success. The B, the least friendly, is the one that lamented old: the collapse. A is the return it supposes for the town. In his reportage ABC Slide that lavender flowering leaves eight million euros in just a few weeks.
Old Precise that the petals are visible several weeks, which (added to His closeness to Madrid) Explain that last year Brihuega received some 140,000 people. “Managing such public influx in a short time is difficult. We work hard, we have security commission, but it is still a great influx.”
Flowers with festival. The truth is that the success of the Brihuega lavender fields are not explained only by networks. The town itself has played a key role by promoting the Lavender festivalwhich has already several years underway and combine the landscape with performances of recognized musicians in Spain.
This year, for example, concerts were organized on July 11, 12, 18 and 19 and the secrets, Iván Ferreiro, El Arbato and Beret acted. In past editions they have made it damn Nerea, Víctor Manuel or Luz Casal, to name a few. To their shows are added Other activitiesas lavender -based artisanal workshops.
Beyond Brihuega. There is another key and it is the growing interest that awakens “flowering tourism” between a tourist profile that seeks alternative destinations. I recently told Efe in An article In which he points out that, so far this year, this type of tourism has already caught 20% more travelers. In the specific case of Carmona, famous for his Sunflower fieldsthe influx of visitors grew 6% last year and in Moratalla, also known for Your lavenderThe mayor estimates that flowering will attract 15,000 people in just a few months.
Images | Lavender festival, Emiliano García-Page Sánchez (Flickr) and MMV (Flickr)
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