Barcelona and French Pyrenees holiday
How this holiday makes a difference
Environment
We have based the clients in Barcelona slightly outside of the city centre and encouraged our guests to use public transport to access the city rather than taxis to minimise their carbon footprint. Due to the remote location of the converted farmhouse a hire car is needed but small, economical models will always be chosen and booked for the clients.
The converted farmhouse was restored to be as environmentally friendly as possible which includes the estate sourcing 70% of its energy used from renewable sources including solar panels, biodiesel and a windmill. The hotel has the largest privately owned solar park in Languedoc-Roussillon. The natural swimming pool is a big attraction (and favourite!) for visitors to the farmhouse and it was carved from the natural rock on the hillside. Since the hosts here have completed the renovation they have launched a reforestation plan which is designed to restore some of this area’s natural beauty.
All the food served at the farmhouse is either grown organically in the land surrounding the accommodation or it is sourced from local independent suppliers in the area who receive a fare payment for their locally grown goods – we think they taste much better too!
We have also arranged for complementary mountain bike hire so that clients can use these bikes instead of their hire cars to get around and explore this wonderful area using a more responsible method. There are also a number of hiking trails around the farmhouse which offer stunning views over the local area, are signposted and regularly checked. This controls damage from walkers hiking in this area without following a designated route.
Community
By using a independently owned hotel slightly outside of the city centre this spreads the tourist spend away from the main larger central hotels and into the suburb areas which widens the areas that benefit from tourism. The hotel employees are all trained thoroughly and are employed in a range of positions from lower level positions to management level.
The converted farmhouse has introduced tourism to this rural area and all staff working at the farmhouse either are from the local area or have moved here. Through the tourism multiplier effect this increased income to the area and the local economy has benefited from increased tourist spend and also increase in local population. This area of France statistically has the highest rate of unemployment in France and small businesses in rural areas such as this accommodation have a huge sense of pride in creating well paid jobs in a small team environment where employees are proud of the work that they do.
As a way to preserve the local culture and traditions as part of the refurbishment each room was individually planned and developed with a subtle theme. This individual approach to the redevelopment included commissioning local artists to create unique and beautiful features in the rooms such as hand crafted iron fixtures, artwork, furniture pieces, kitchen dishes and outside and around the accommodation the trail markers and route planning around the local area which were all done by local people. By using local artists this gives them a chance to showcase their work and if guests to the hotel are interested they can visit the artist’s studios in the nearby studios and purchase their work.
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