In the midst of the debate on tourist overcrowding in the city of Girona and the demands of some groups to “put a stop to it”, the Girona City Council has today announced the balance of Temps de Flors, the open-air floral exhibition, which was held between May 11 and 19.
An edition, marked by drought, that has added more visitors than the last one, around 40,000 more. The Councilor for Economic Promotion and vice mayor of the city, Gemma Geis, has indicated that some 400,000 people have passed through the floral display. More than 70% came from Catalonia and the remaining 30% from other parts of Spain or other countries such as France, Germany or Japan.
Asked if the city is capable of taking on so many visitors in just nine days or if the floral contest has a growth ceiling, Geis acknowledged that “I am not one of those people who defends that everything should grow exponentially” and believes that there should be “balances”.
At the same time, he indicates that “you cannot put doors on the countryside” and that “everything that works should not be assumed to be a failure.” Geis understands that “people appreciate the visits” and that “a specific and own offer” such as Temps de Flors, “adds value to the city.”
At the moment, the economic impact that visitors have left on the city is unknown, although it will most likely exceed the figure from the last edition when it reached 10.5 million euros. The restoration was one of the sectors that benefited the most.
Temps de Flors has closed its 69th edition in full debate about overcrowding in the city. Last Thursday, the Platform for Tourist Decline was presented in Girona, made up of several entities and people in which they ask to “put a stop to mass tourism”.
They denounce that the arrival of tourists and expats makes life difficult for residents and turns some neighborhoods into “ghetto areas” and demand urgent measures to “stop and reduce tourist monoculture” and strengthen other economic sectors.
One of the tourism subsectors towards which the most criticism is directed are the businesses linked to bicycle tourism, which in the city have grown significantly in recent years. Coinciding with the floral display, the Platform took down a banner in one of the businesses that is being renovated to house a bicycle shop that read “Tanquem l’aixeta al turisme” (Let’s turn off the tap on tourism).
The group demands that the municipal government stop the project, which limits the licenses for this type of commerce and implements a recovery plan for local commerce. Last week the mayor of Girona, Lluc Salellas, announced that they are working on an “action plan” to find a balance between tourism and residents.
