The flowering cherry trees of Pieria are the country’s new tourist show

To share with the Greeks, as well as the foreign visitors in our country, those landscapes created every year by the flowers and which have never ceased to amaze them, decided by its producers, in an alliance with the Holy Organization of Tourism Development and Promotion (WTOPP) and following the standard applied by the Greek Tourism Organization under the name “Branded Routes” of Lefkadios Hearn. It is no coincidence that the great essayist Meneleas Loudemis was inspired by the above phenomenon and wrote his novel “The cherry trees will bloom again this year”. Far beyond that, in Japan, since the eighth century, the creation of the “hanami” trend, which literally means “I look at the flowers” and attracts millions of visitors every year who are pursuing the… authentic magic of nature. In Greece, many describe cherry as the “emerging star of Greek fruit”, others estimate that it is already… a barometer for our country, while a common finding is that this fruit, even in conditions of economic crisis, is in an uphill orbit and has managed to conquer the primaries in terms of the purchase of rosemary – and planting – nationwide. It is the transformation of those naked trees into pink fragrant clouds, as cherry flowers bloom and certify the rebirth brought by spring and landscapes turn into truly spectacular scenery, which attract young and old for a delightful ride, tell the APE-BE executives of Potap. The cherries in Kolindros and Rach Pieria All his life the 69-year-old producer, Nikos Platsas, is among cherries and was born in a cherry in Kolindros Pierias. He tells the APE-BE that in the period from 1958 to 1980 in the area was celebrated “the beginning of the spring marked by flowering cherry trees. In fact this first cherry celebration was the first to be made nationwide in terms of agricultural product.” In this context, he notes that during the two-day event a photo and video exhibition will be presented with moments from all those celebrations and already families in the area are opening trunks, dusting photo albums and searching material. In the area of Kolindros, according to Mr Platsas, 1,000 acres of cherries are cultivated, with producers, exceeding 160 families having more than 40,000 trees and annual average production exceeding 1 million kg. According to him, exports are made across Europe, Russia and the Balkans. “In October 2024 we will have the most modern unit throughout Greece,” points out with great pleasure and satisfaction the president of the Agricultural Partnership of the Rachi “Aghios Loukas”, Dimitris Duros, noting that investment in building infrastructure and engineering equipment and not only exceeds 3.5m euros, started in September 2023 and is implemented with resources from the Development and Durability Fund. In the region of Rahi, according to him, 2,000 acres of cherries are cultivated. Over 250 people from 20 to 70 years of age who grow more than 60,000 trees in production while annual average production exceeds 1,000 tonnes. ” 85% of our production is exported to markets in Asia, Europe and the Balkans. Cherrys arrive in Italy, France and Romania, Dubai, Singapore, Malaysia and India,” he notes, saying that his goal is to strengthen their presence in the markets already in place and to strengthen the Rachi cherry in India. A weekend (13-14/4) full of flowering cherry trees in Kolindros & Rahi in Pieria In order to further develop and disseminate agrotourism in Pieria, the Holy Organization for Tourism Development and Promotion (P.O. T.A. P.), “walking” on the path of the “Bringing Routes” of Lefkadios Hearn, EOT, which aims to raise awareness of tourists, in order to focus their interest in visiting the areas of Greece where plant flowering occurs, decided the weekend from 13/4 to “travel” to the ends of the world, the phenomenon of flowering cherries in the regional unity of Pieria. “The cherry trees are the first flowering spring tree, which with their white and pink color awaken and strongly create a thoughtful mood of human emotions,” notes Potap in today’s announcement and features says that in many countries of the world societies are praising this phenomenon with a series of traditions. The Potap has included in its activities since this year the implementation of the “Browsing Horns of Pieria”, since the county has areas of unique value delicious cherries, such as Kolindros and the Rach, which flood with their product the international markets. “The landscape that emerges from the flowering of cherry trees creates a magical intuition and rightly is an inspiration for artists and poets, while its aromatic fruits stand out tastefully. We establish the walks and series of spiritual creation proposals in the two cherry regions of Pieria (Colindros and Rahi), as a result of the symbolism of spring, beauty and new beginnings,” the president of P.O. stressed on the teleconference of the organizing committee of the first action on the flowering cherry trees. HR, George Karalis. “Implementing the joint decision we made during the recent visit to Pieria of the President of the Greek Tourism Organization, Angela Guerrekou, on the occasion of the program “Bringing Routes”, we go on to realize another initiative that will highlight the natural wealth of our county, make our beauties known in conjunction with the cherry’s primary product and strengthen the local economy through our tourism proposals. A walk under the blossoming cherry trees is an opportunity to accept the pleasures that Pieria generously gives us, combined with spiritual and creative thoughts. We are moving forward dynamically,” said Deputy Regional Commissioner Pieria, Sophia Mauridou. The cultivation of cherry trees The cultivation of cherry trees is one of the most dynamic in Europe, while Greece is developing and developing intensively with strong entrepreneurial trends, mainly through the use of modern methods and cultivation systems. Cherry as fruit is very popular and widespread and is widely consumed by the inhabitants of many European countries and so, despite the fact that European growers produce large quantities of this fruit, imports from third countries are also being made, estimated to reach up to 100,000 tonnes per year. The area of cultivated land with cherry orchards in Europe is about 1,750,000 acres according to data from the World Food Organization (FAO), with the cultivated area in Greece, based on the same source, being formed in about 162,000 acres and even rising trends occur, as the cultivation also extends to island Greece. Most of the cultivated areas (while 75%), are located in Macedonia and mainly in the regional units of Pella and Imathia. In 2018, Greece occupied third place in Europe, behind Italy (300,000 ft) and Spain (175,000 ft) according to FAO data, while at annual production level, our country in the same year was ranked in fourth place with 90,290 tonnes, behind Italy (114.798 tonnes), Spain (106.584 tonnes) and Romania (90,837 tonnes).