The tourist-proof tulip Image: Visit Netherlands, NBTC
The Dutch tourist board has launched a video warning tourists planning to trample the flower fields for a perfect Instagram shot that a new bulb might bite back.
‘The Netherlands are world famous for their flowers and we welcome millions of tourists every year,’ says Prof Erik Kummeling, described as being from a National Institute for Floricultural Science and Research in the video. ‘But unfortunately as many tourists step into the flower fields for the perfect picture, the flowers and bulbs get destroyed. We develop high-quality flower species that are stronger and more resistent to this new natural enemy: humans.’
The video – launched on April 1 – claims the Dutch have cross bred famous Dutch flowers with the rubber tree from Brazil, known for its flexibility, the mangrove from the Philippines for extremely strong roots, Stinkhorn fungi, releasing a ‘sharp and terrible smell’ when threatened, and ‘the famous flesh eating plant’ to create the human-proof Flores Touristia. So, it warns: ‘enjoy our flowers but keep your distance: they bite!’
We’re proud to present the ultimate Dutch flower: the #FloresTouristia! See for yourself how our scientists have worked miracles and created ‘the human proof tulip’ 🌷👀 pic.twitter.com/anSB8CNKAW
— Visit Netherlands (@Visit_NL) March 31, 2023
April blooms
The video, admits Simone Sagi of the Netherlands Board of Tourism & Conventions, is an April fool’s joke, but one with a serious message.
‘It’s to shine a light on responsible and sustainable tourism,’ she told Dutch News. ‘Of course, the tulip fields are a real spectacle and so inviting, but please be mindful that this is somebody’s business. Don’t go into the fields, because you could damage the tulips or take in diseases that affect the bulbs and someone’s livelihood.
‘There are now places where you can pick your own flowers or there are designated spots for selfies among the blooms, as well as less-known areas in Flevoland rather than the municipality of Lisse, near the famous Keukenhof flower gardens.’
The financial impact of the damage caused or the numbers of tourists trampling the flowers have not been quantified, although more than a million people visited the Keukenhof last year.
Humour
However, the April fool’s video is a lighthearted attempt to drive home the message. ‘Everything associated with TikTok and Instagram is a phenomenon across the world, and every year we do see pictures of the flower fields and people are attracted as they do make a beautiful backdrop,’ she added.
‘If you can make something humorous, you are more likely to get your message across. There is something scientific happening here in terms of disease. Imagine if there really could be an unbreakable tulip! But. actually. tulips are really fragile.’
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