The Puerto Vallarta Bougainvillea Festival and PV Garden Club

The Puerto Vallarta Bougainvillea Festival and PV Garden Club
Trabajando Para Embellezer y Impulsar Tourismo
“Working to Promote Tourism”

Reasons for supporting public gardens in a community:

  • Gardens and parks are a Civilizing Force that instill pride in their citizenry.
  • Cities with beautiful gardens are perceived as orderly and Places of Culture.
  • Embracing the “green movement” as a city´s guiding principal improves a community’s image & health and wellbeing.
  • Gardens & floral festivals are proven Tourism Generators!

Gardens are a Civilizing Force!

  • The media often focuses on the negative aspects of our community, whereas gardens and nature could help highlight the positive.
  • Communities that boast lush, beautiful, and diverse gardens are perceived as safe, secure, and civilized.

Going Green

  • “Going Green” is a top priority of many countries, communities, and corporations.
  • Communities that optimize their public green spaces are perceived as part of this movement, and are emerging as leaders.

What is a Tourism Generator?

  • Tourism Generators are the attractions, historical and natural features (mountains, ocean), events and historic native culture that produce new and repeat tourism- and make people want to visit an area.
  • A destination’s reputation for cleanliness, safety and quality of service are major tourism generators.
  • All new tourists are “Cultural Explorers” looking for an authentic experience of the country they are visiting.
  • Lodging, food & other services are the beneficiaries of tourism generators.

What are some of the Tourism Generators of Puerto Vallarta?

  • Lonely Planet, one of the world’s most famous travel guides, lists the following as some of the not to be missed attractions and activities for “cultural explorers” coming to PV Beaches, Museo del Cuale, Isla Rio Cuale River Walk, Whale Watching, Malecon, Public Sculptures, Outdoor Adventures, & The Vallarta Botanical Garden. (time-share sales and beach vendors for example, are not tourism generators- but set up shop in areas where they can take advantage of tourism being generated by tourism generators.

Gardens & Floral Festivals are Proven Tourism Generators!

  • Gardens & Floral Festivals draw new tourist business that in turn supports the amenities & retail markets.
  • By creating and supporting new dynamic tourism generators, Puerto Vallarta will excel and support its citizens
    through the creation of new tourism sector jobs, not handouts.
  • All major tourist destinations understand the importance of investing in their parks and public green spaces. Walt Disney World in Orlando, Fl, famous for their gardens and public flower gardens has an annual landscaping and beautification budget of over 15 million dollars. Why would Walt Disney World spend 15 million dollars a year keeping their gardens beautiful? Because they know it creates new tourism and repeat tourism!
  • Well known floral festivals include: Portland Rose Festival,

The Cherry Blossom Festival, Washington D. C. – 100 Years of Tourism. 1912-2012

  • The Cherry Blossom Festival in Washington D.C. brings in over 1 million visitors each year who pump in over 125 million dollars into the local Washington DC economy through lodging, dining, and other tourist spending each year. The Cherry Blossom Festival started in 1912 with 100 Cherry Flowering Trees donated by the Empress of Japan as a gesture of friendship to the US.
  • The Cherry Blossom Festival is 2 weeks in April every year and is an annual financial windfall for Washington.

The Puerto Vallarta Bougainvillea Festival

  • Bougainvilleas planted now will be fully naturalized and established after about 2 years, will be about 10 feet tall, and will require only occasional watering.
  • The Bougainvillea is very resistant to pests and drought and will increase in splendor with the passing of time.
  • They bloom almost continuously throughout the year, with the heaviest bloom in spring.
  • Basilio Badillo, Olas Altas, Mercado Cuale, Ave Mexico and Insurgentes have all been planted with native trees and bougainvilleas. The bougainvilleas and native trees we plant today will be a legacy for generations to come and provide years of beauty. Hundreds of others are still to be planted.
  • Tourist destinations such as PV must constantly strive to improve visitor experience and periodically re invent themselves in order to complete with every other destination for the same tourists!!
  • The initial financial investment in creating the festival is minute compared to the years of tourism it will generate.
  • Bougainvilleas will add YEAR ROUND beauty to our streets and parks.

Goals and Projects of the PV Garden Club

  • To beautify public areas of PV to INCREASE local jobs and more TOURISM!
  • To create a more beautiful city for the enjoyment of PV residents and our visitors (Malecon, Zona Romantica…)
  • Cooperation with the municipality of Puerto Vallarta to create an annual Bougainvillea Festival during its peak bloom (May) to encourage new visitors./li>
  • To raise money to support ongoing beautification initiatives and their maintenance to help our city prosper.
  • Encourage all business and property owners to “Give Something Back to Vallarta” and invest in the future of PV- by sponsoring a tree or planter.
  • The PV Garden Club is currently seeing new members and volunteers to help PV create and benefit from the Bougainvillea Festival.
    The Cost of Participating in the Project
  • The cost of sponsoring a tree or planter box is between $2200 pesos and 5200 pesos. All Fees go towards watering and buying new plants.
  • The costs associated with urban blight: include less tourism, reduced property values, more graffiti, increased crime, & a less prosperous city. We cannot allow this to happen in our beloved PV!
  • Considering this, the cost of planters or sponsoring a tree is amazingly inexpensive and made possible by community volunteerism (The PV Garden Club members and its supporters)
    A City’s Reputation for Cleanliness is a powerful tourism generator.
  • Please help the PV Garden Club reverse urban blight before it can spread throughout PV and hurt our tourist based economy!

Cuando alguien comparte algo valioso que le beneficiará, tiene la obligación moral de compartirlo con los demás.
“When someone shares something valuable that benefits you, you have a obligation of sharing it with others.”

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