Beyond the ephemeral installations, the visual appeal of the displays, and the use of fall flowersThe festival has revealed itself as a urban and economic planning instrumentFor every euro invested in Flora, almost three euros of activity in the province, with a significant ripple effect on sectors such as tourism, hospitality, commerce, and transportation. All of this at an event that, despite its relative youth, has managed to become a benchmark in Spain and Europe within the field of floral art.
An economic impact that approaches 67 million euros
The study prepared by the area of Economics at Loyola University, within the framework of the agreement with the festival organization, estimates the total impact of the last edition at 66,9-67 million euros in terms of provincial productionOf that amount, around 32,9-33,8 million They correspond to the direct contribution to GDP of the province of Córdoba, a volume that is situated around the 0,15-0,18% of GDP provincial, according to the various estimates presented.
Regarding employment, the report points out the creation of 127 full-time equivalent jobs linked to the festival, which amounts to approximately between 0,17% and 0,21% of provincial employmentThese jobs are linked both to the organization and production of Flora and to the activity generated in the tourism and service sectors. For an initiative with a moderate budget, these figures are considered a clear indicator of its capacity to stimulate the economy.
The authors of the study highlight that, in real terms for 2025, Flora's impact on the province has increased by around 27% compared to the previous year and more than one 60% compared to 2023This sustained growth suggests that the festival no longer functions as a one-off event, but as a recurring factor within the Cordoba economic and cultural ecosystem.
The presentation of the results emphasized that this production volume is equivalent to slightly more than 0,13% of provincial productionIt may seem like a modest percentage at first glance, but, applied to a single cultural event that lasts only a few days in October, the magnitude of the impact acquires a notable weight within the local economy.
Flora as a structural engine: return rates and traction effect
One of the most repeated facts in the Loyola report is the economic efficiency of the festivalIn the different versions of the study, the return rate falls within a very stable range: For every euro attributed to Flora, between 2,94 and 2,98 euros of economic activity are generated. in the province. That is, the direct spending associated with the festival almost triples in terms of overall impact.
This efficiency is reinforced by what the researchers call tractor effect or tractor ratioTaking as a reference a budget close to 600.000-613.000 euros —divided almost equally between wages and salaries, on the one hand, and goods and services, on the other—, the festival induces a tourist spending about 16 times higher than that budgetIn practice, Flora manages to transform around Initial investment of 0,6 million euros in almost 67 million euros of production in the province.
In addition to the direct impact and tourist spending, the report incorporates the so-called demand shockThat is, the effect the festival has on other economic activities: from the coffee a visitor has after leaving a flower installation to accommodation, visits to other monuments, or shopping in downtown stores. This demand shock is quantified at around 22-22,5 billion euros, adding up the organizational costs, the induced cultural tourism and the media impact.
Within that shock, the weight of tourism is overwhelming: around 80% of the monetary flow It is concentrated in hotels, tourist apartments, restaurants, and other associated services. The rest is distributed among transportation, food, retail, and a long supply chain that is activated around the festival, which explains the extent of the multiplier effect.
Cultural tourism and almost 200.000 visits in just a few days
The last edition of Flora was held of October 13 to 23with a duration of just over a week of public exhibition of the installations. Despite this limited timeframe, the festival accounted for around 197.000-197.773 visits to its five floral arrangements, which represents a increase of almost 0,7% compared to the previous year in a city of about 325.000 inhabitants.
Of that total volume of entries to the facilities, the study identifies a very significant block of cultural tourismAround 39.500-39.555 people They came from outside Córdoba, motivated primarily by the festival and its artistic offerings. Approximately one 60-63% of those cultural visitors were Spanish coming from other provinces and the 37-40% remaining He arrived from abroad, which reinforces the international dimension of the competition.
The expenditure associated with this cultural audience is around 9,9-9,94 billion euros, with a rise greater than 10% compared to the 2024 editionOf that amount, approximately 3,9 million These correspond to national visitors and the rest to international tourists, who tend to stay somewhat longer and have a higher average daily expenditure.
According to the analysis by branches of activity, more than 80% of the economic flows of that cultural tourism The revenue is channeled through the tourism sector in its broadest sense (accommodation, restaurants, and complementary services), while the remaining portion supports areas such as transportation, small businesses, and other services linked to the travel experience. This distribution explains why local hospitality and retail businesses consider Flora a strategic event of the autumn season.
Media impact and projection of the Córdoba brand
Along with the direct economic and tourism impact, the Loyola report pays special attention to media impact of the Flora festivalThrough the calculation of the so-called equivalent advertising value, it is estimated that the visibility generated by the contest—in press, television, radio and digital media—reaches around 11,9 millones de euros, with growth that hovers around 56% compared to the previous year.
This media impact multiplies by more than 19 times the festival's budgetThis positions Flora as a highly profitable promotional tool for the city. Córdoba's partnership with the contemporary floral artThis, combined with its historical heritage, reinforces its position as a cultural tourism destination in Spain and across Europe. The authors of the study point out that this level of visibility would be prohibitively expensive if achieved solely through conventional advertising campaigns.
The assessments presented highlight that Flora makes a sustained contribution to the Córdoba brandby projecting it not only as a city of courtyards and monumental heritage, but also as a space for contemporary creativity. This nuance is especially relevant in terms of differentiating itself from other urban destinations that also compete to attract cultural visitors each autumn.
The dissemination of information in national and international media is combined with the digital ecosystem: social networks, audiovisual content, and publications specializing in culture, design, and gardening. All of this feeds into a narrative in which Córdoba is presented as world reference in contemporary botany, the stated objective of the Flora organization and the institutions that support it.
A young festival with a desire to become a permanent fixture
Flora was born in 2017 as a novel initiative focused on ephemeral floral creation, with a forced hiatus in 2020 due to the pandemic. Despite that break, in just eight effective editions It has gone from being an emerging proposal to becoming what the Loyola researchers define as a “structural economic engine” for the province of Córdoba.
The report insists that the stability of the indicators in the three-year period 2023-2025 —with an average annual contribution of more than 50 millones de euros and more than a hundred jobs—demonstrates that the event is already part of the economic and cultural ecosystem of the cityIt's not just a few days of concentrated activity in October, but a project that maintains a constant presence throughout the year thanks to production work, attracting sponsors, and parallel programming.
For the festival's management, this structural nature implies an added responsibility: to continue improving the artistic content and ensuring that the event brings value to the city as a whole, beyond mere numbers. The organization emphasizes that Flora's true impact is not measured solely by the exhibition period, but by its capacity for permanence, to generate recurring employment and to sustain a solid public-private partnership network.
In this sense, the festival's financial structure—with a balanced budget between personnel and services—presents itself as a relatively stable model. Maintaining efficiency ratios close to three euros return for every euro invested The investment is interpreted as a sign of the project's maturity, indicating that it has managed to grow without increasing its spending.
Public-private collaboration and institutional commitment
The Córdoba City Council and the Flora organization insist on defining the festival as a “city bet”. Mayor, Jose Maria BellidoHe emphasized that the economic, tourism, and media impact data clearly demonstrate that the event is “absolutely established” on the festive calendar and that it “continues to grow” year after year. According to the mayor, Flora is already a “major city event” and an example of the potential of projects driven by public-private collaboration.
In his speeches, Bellido highlighted the importance of the festival both for the local economy as well as for the international projection of Córdoba, especially in sectors such as hospitality, commerce and transportThese businesses directly benefit from the arrival of nearly 200.000 visitors in a short period. The City Council has reiterated its commitment to maintaining and even strengthening institutional support in future editions.
On behalf of the organization, the general manager Maria Van den Eynde He insists that Flora “is not an isolated event,” but a a shared commitment to the future for the entire cityThe festival director argues that the key to the project lies precisely in this continuous work, in building alliances with the business and cultural fabric, and in improving both the artistic program and the management year after year.
The Loyola researchers also point to a broader change in focus: the cultural festivals have gone from being conceived as simple leisure activities to being integrated into the strategic planning of citiesFlora would fit perfectly into this new model, in which culture, tourism and economic development are articulated in the same project.
Looking ahead to the ninth edition and the tenth anniversary
With the latest data in hand, the Flora organization is already working on the next event. fall 2026The ninth edition is being prepared with an eye on a symbolic milestone: the tenth anniversarywhich will be held in 2027 and is envisioned as a turning point for the festival and for the city itself. The intention is to take advantage of that date to give a qualitative and quantitative leap that further strengthens Cordoba's role on the international map of floral art.
Van den Eynde explained that reaching the tenth edition represents a "point of maturity" from which they aspire to definitively consolidate Córdoba as world reference in contemporary botanyTo achieve this, the work focuses on attracting prestigious creators, expanding collaborations with cultural institutions, and strengthening parallel programming, all while maintaining a connection with the community and the neighborhoods that host the facilities.
Loyola's analysis supports this vision of the future: data from the 2023-2025 period show stable and sustained economic return ratiosThis has led to a growing pull effect and an increasingly consolidated image for the festival both within and outside of Spain. From an academic perspective, when a cultural event maintains these kinds of indicators for several consecutive years, it becomes a strategic tool for territorial and tourism planning.
In light of the figures and assessments from public officials, organizers, and analysts, Flora appears today as much more than a photogenic flower festival: it has established itself as a structural asset of the Cordoba economyIt's an international showcase for the city and a laboratory where culture, tourism, and business work hand in hand. The challenge now is to maintain this balance between growth and sustainability, so that the festival continues to generate economic and social value without losing its creative essence.
