- On March 7, Agromarketing Spain organized the 'I Flowering Forum: Engine of Rural Development' at the Ricote Valley Hub, in which technicians and managers from the main flowering plants in Spain and the Ministry of Industry, Trade and Tourism participated to exchange experiences and generate synergies.
- Valle del Jerte (cherry), Brihuega (lavender), Sierra de Gredos (broom), Mula (almond), as well as Cieza and Aitona (peach) participated in the Forum explaining their success stories and analyzing how to improve their experience within the emerging flowering tourism.
Agromarketing Spain (www.agromarketing.es) was the host of the I Flowering Forum: Engine of Rural Development. A pioneering initiative by the company to promote emerging flowering tourism that brought together the last March 7th to technicians and managers of the main flowering crops in Spain such as Jerte Valley (cherry tree), Brihuega (lavender), Gredos Mountains (broom), Mule (almond tree), as well as Cieza and Aitona (peach).
The meeting took place at the Ricote Valley Hub (www.ricotevalleyhub.com), in Villanueva del Río Segura, and was attended by professionals from travel agencies, active tourism companies and specialized journalists from all over the country. This first Forum is part of the agrotourism project 'Experience Spain in Bloom' (www.floracion.es), led by Agromarketing, and selected by the Ministry of Industry, Trade and Tourism as one of the most innovative initiatives in the country with funds from the Recovery, Transformation and Resilience Plan.
New trends and success stories
The Forum featured the opening speech by Cristina Sánchez (Head of Section of the Sub-Directorate of Tourism Development and Sustainability of Mincetur) which she analysed in her presentation on 'New innovative products: Tourist experiences'. The different territories with a flourishing tourism development participated next, such as Jenifer Bermejo, from the Jerte Valley Tourism Association (TUJERTE) who explained the success story of pioneering flowering in Spain.
He Mayor of Brihuega, Luis Viejo, focused his speech on the involvement of the population in the organization of flowering activities, while the Mayor of Cieza, Tomás Rubio, did the same in his presentation on the importance of programming music, gastronomy, culture and sports activities in flowering tourism. Beatriz Obis, tourism technician at the Aitona Town Hall, focused on the role of women in the peach blossom, and from the Mula City Hall, technician Rubén Caballero, analyzed the results of the experience of his MulaFlor 2024 project.
European funding opportunities for flowering tourism projects by José Luis Torneo (Adri Group from Vega del Segura) or the role of the farmer at the center of flowering tourism by the agricultural engineer Pedro Fernández were other speakers at the Conference.
Digitization and success of floracion.es
It is worth highlighting the participation of Arturo Soler and Alejandro Ortega, CEO and Marketing Director respectively of Agromarketing Spain. In their speech, they explained the importance of digitalisation, social networks and the development of technological tools such as an APP for the Blooms of Spain to explain the boom in emerging bloom tourism and improve the visitor experience. They provided data on the strong impact of promotional actions carried out by the company within the 'Experience Spain in Bloom' project, as well as the significant flow of visits to the website. www.floracion.es launched a few months ago and aimed at attracting national and international tourists.
To conclude the session of presentations, a round table was held with the title 'Flowering tourism: an opportunity for rural areas' in which Aurora Jimenez (Gredos Norte Association of Trade and Tourism Entrepreneurs), Jorge Lamiran (Travel Agency Family Travel), Rocio Alcantara (National Association of Active Tourism and Ecotourism Companies) and the photographer specialized in flowering Fernando Galindo.
The day concluded with the inauguration of the Traveling Interpretation Centre of the blooms of Spain in the lounge of the Jardines de Villanueva Restaurant, where a networking lunch and a sunset route to the flowering plants were held for the invited attendees.