Rural holidays beat beach breaks for first time: What's the attraction?

RURAL tourism is the only real form of leisure travel that has not taken a dramatic hit from the pandemic – quite the opposite, in fact, if figures quoted by countryside hotels are anything to go by.

Keen to avoid crowds, more and more residents in Spain have stayed away from airports and beaches this year, meaning international travel plummeted drastically and, on the staycation front, the coast was less of a holiday magnet in July and August.

So, a casa rural, or a guesthouse in the country, was a popular way of socially-distancing, and in the middle of a year that has involved being confined at home, families and friends kept apart, fear of job loss and of loved ones getting seriously ill, or worse, the psychological need to 'get away from it all' has, collectively, been greater.

Again, psychologically, the burning urge to escape one's real life for a few days and de-stress tends to conjure up images of nature, greenery, fresh air, picturesque views, a slower pace of life, home cooking, animals, and a much lesser emphasis on technology, feeling busy, living the high life, and 'being modern'. Given that rural villages or being right out in the sticks can give the sensation of stepping off the express train of 21st-century existence and popping back to a time when life seemed so much less complicated (even if it wasn't), destinations deep in the country have proven to be the ideal 'Covid break' in 2020.

According to at least one booking site, over the two main summer tourism months, rural holidays accounted for 54% of the total – a whole 14 percentage points higher than over the same period in 2019.

Coincidentally, almost as if they suspected ahead of time, the United Nations World Tourism Organisation (UNWTO) chose the theme of 'Tourism and Rural Development' for the 2020 edition of World Tourism Day.

Based upon the premise that the holiday industry needs to be more climate-friendly, preparations for World Tourism Day adapted fast as the pandemic reshaped the sector – with 90% of UNESCO World Heritage Sites shut and safety suddenly becoming key, the countryside proved to be the perfect focus.

According to the UN: “Young people in rural communities are three times more likely to be unemployed – tourism is a lifeline, offering [them] a chance to earn a living without having to migrate.”

Additionally, one in 10 people worldwide are employed in the holiday industry, meaning fast action has to be taken this and next year to rebuild it without compromising on public safety.

The idea of a rural break always sounds inviting, but many travellers are a little scared of putting it into practice – once you've booked your hotel room, what are you actually going to do when you get there?

It's fine if you're into hiking, or even just relaxing, non-taxing nature walks; hotels will have information available about routes you can follow or, in some cases, organised excursions you can join. Ditto if you have a bike and have brought it with you, or if you ride – clearly, most equestrian activity happens in the countryside.

But otherwise, you might feel there's nothing much you can get out of a break in the depths of nowhere.

However, sightseeing is always an option, and casas rurales will generally be in places where there are, indeed, sights to see, and can guide you either once you arrive or if you contact them before you book on what to find, where to find it, and whether any organised trips are in place that include transport and will help you get the best out of them.

These could include winery tours, food tours, village visits, woodland walks, rivers and water falls (geysers, even), ancient ruins, castles, farm visits, botanical gardens, or even local cooking or craft workshops, perhaps out in the open. Travel ideas are never lacking, wherever you are in Spain.

Or you could just kick back and do nothing. That's always an option, and where better to do nothing than surrounded by nature? Most casas rurales have a swimming pool, some may have a spa, many have attractive gardens or grounds, and if you simply can't face anything that feels like 'activity', there's no reason why you can't merely use it as an opportunity to flop out with a book. Perhaps pop to a local, rustic restaurant serving home cooking and local wine in the evening, or seek out accommodation within comfortable walking or driving distance of a small village and time your trip for when they have an event happening – a festival or local fiesta, or a weekend craft market.

As for where to head to – well, the world (or Spain, at least) is your oyster. Whilst the vast majority of the population lives in coastal areas or in or around the largest cities or towns, most of the nation's land-mass is rural.

Some of the most-visited destinations by region include La Alpujarra and the Sierra Nevada (even outside of ski season) in Andalucía; the Baix Maestrat in the province of Castellón and the western rural hinterland of the Alt Vinalopó district in that of Alicante; north-western Murcia; Monfragüe and the Jert Valley in Extremadura; the Rías Altas and Rías Baixas – or rivers that run into the sea – in Galicia; and anywhere there's a Sierra (mountain range) or a valley. Or even a dormant volcano or several.

In fact, anywhere there are as few buildings as possible.

You could try the Picos de Europa mountains, Cangas de Onís in Asturias, the Sierra Cazorla in Jaén, Andalucía, the Ebro Delta in Girona, Alcalá del Júcar, the Ruidera Lagoons and the Sierra de Cuenca in Castilla-La Mancha, practically anywhere in Aragón, the Canary Islands or the Balearic Islands, among others.

And the great thing about rural holidays is that they're suitable for any time of the year – even in the coldest parts of Spain in the coldest parts of winter, an hour or two of warmth nearly always appears in the middle of the day, and however chilly it is, the sun is almost always bright in the sky as long as the weather is dry. In general, deep winter in the bits of the country with the lowest temperatures is unlikely to be colder than anywhere else in western Europe, and it's usually warmer than anywhere in the northern half of the continent.

 

Photograph 1: The Vall de Gallinera, northern Alicante province (by Comunidad Valenciana regional tourist board)

Photograph 2: Ebro Delta (by Ebro Delta tourist board)

Photograph 3: Mora de Rubielos, Teruel province (Wikimedia Commons)

Photograph 4: A waterfall in the Sierra de las Nieves (by Andalucía regional tourist board)

Photograph 5: On safari in the Doñana National Park, Huelva and Cádiz province (by Doñana Tours)