usatoday24
The most famous are those of Capadociabut Spain is also an interesting destination for lovers of hot air balloon walks. They offer them in Andalusia, Majorca, Galicia wave Valencian Communityamong other regions, although there is a province in which they have become popular is In Segovia. There they even celebrated in September A festival that brought together about twenty of pilots The walks with a view to the aqueduct and the Alcazar have found themselves with a problem: the discomfort of the farmers.
And that has generated a curious pulse.
Globe walks through Segovia? Yes. Segovia is a province rich in landscapes and heritage, so … why not enjoy them in bird’s view, from the air, aboard a hot air balloon? A Fast search shows that there are different options to live the experience and from the Segovia balloons festival They claim In fact, it is “one of the best destinations in the world” for activity. “That is why about 13,000 travelers choose our city every year to enjoy this experience,” they say.
Is there more data? Yes. A year ago The North of Castile investigated What supposes and how much money moves aerostatic tourism in Segovia. And their results are surprising. Apart from presenting the region as “one of the ten most demanded destinations in the world” for this type of walks, the newspaper ensures that only in 2023 1,334 flights were recorded with 14,568 travelers. At an average of 190 euros per session, that translates into about 2.6 million euros. It is estimated that there is almost a dozen of companies offering their services.
Why are they news? For A few weeks Segovia’s hot air balloons are monopolizing headlines in the press regional and state And curiously it is not for its success among tourists, or their turnover, or The festival planned for this summer. No. The reason is another: The fight Among the companies and professionals of the sector and another of the key guilds for the Segovian province, the farmer.
As the former gained popularity, the latter claim to have encountered a problem: low -rise flights cause them “Grave damages” In the field.
Why’s that? The collective denounces that when flying near the balloons they bother the cattle and it is not strange that the pilots end up posing in their plots. “They cause stamps and stress in animals. They also land without permission in private farms, fences and occupied by cows and calves, as well as in sown lands,” He denounced A few days ago Union of Peasants of Segovia-UCCL after transferring his complaints to the subdelegation of the Government.
“The balloons make low -term flights through the grass areas, operating the burner when they estimate convenient. The noise caused by this device causes serious stress to the animals, giving rise to stampeds,” The entity insists. “The scared animals jump fences, wired and break into the races with obvious risks to safety and unease for the farmer. In case they were not enough, they land unpunishedly in private farms.”
Are they the only ones who complain? No. The Health Defense Group (ADS) Sierra de Segovia, which brings together just over a hundred extended cattlemen of the surroundings of the Sierra de Guadarrama and the Capital Segoviana, He complained recently to North Seville of the “legal vacuum” that entrepreneurs use to land on the plots. “They would have to be much clearer things,” Add your spokesman: “It is sinvivir, this cannot be a safari, you cannot fly over the cows to enjoy passengers.”
What do businessmen say? For them the situation is quite different. In An interview with The Spanish newspaper Cristian Biosca, manager of one of the companies in the sector, acknowledged “not understanding” the controversy. “There is no novelty”, argues. The only incident that consists, says, happened “a few months ago” and Biosca clarifies that it had “nothing to do” with the companies that usually operate in Segovia.
Moreover, the manager argues that the complaints that receive only three “particularly problematic” farmers. “We have tried to reach agreements with them, to come to fly and see it, but nothing.”
“His complaint is that we fly low and frightened cattle, but ever none of those who fly have seen that the cattle run when we pass or break fences,” guarantees bioscawho points out that the cows have already become accustomed to the balloons. “Like the right over,” he concludes. Proof that his activity is “safe” and there is no evidence of the damages denouncing the farmers is that, he states, the complaints that have been filed to date have not prospered.
What is the solution? Segovia-UCL peasants union It is clear: That the flights of the balloons stop “interfering” with the cattle breeding areas. It wouldn’t even be a new exit. The group recalls that years ago, in 2018, operators and livestock already agreed thanks to the mediation of the government’s subdelegation a “flight exclusion zone” that affected certain municipalities characterized precisely by the presence of pastures.
That agreement worked for a while, but UCCL denounces that the companies that manage the balloons “are returning to Campar to their width through the grass areas.” “We understand that the tourist travel activity in globe is perfectly feasible in Segovia without invading cattle breeding spaces,” insists The collective: “It is enough to resume the pact reached in its day.”
And that is feasible? UCCL Defend that yes And in fact he recognizes that for several years the agreement signed in 2018 was fulfilled “to a large extent.” “It is perfectly possible, since there is more than enough airspace so that both activities can be developed without mutual interference,” concludes.
Biosca remember Also that in 2018 there were areas through which the pilots “try” not to pass, but clarifies: “The balloons cannot be directed (…) is not a matter of whim where we land, the wind takes us.”
Images | Victor Iniesta (Flickr) and Segovia-UCL peasants union
GIPHY App Key not set. Please check settings