UK hopes to emulate Japan with cherry blossom tourism plans

theguardian.com:

Tourists have long travelled to Japan to see its famous cherry blossom in spring.

But the UK could soon have its own industry as the increasing number of the trees in the country draw large crowds each year when in bloom.

The bank holiday is expected to see large numbers of visitors from home and abroad heading to cherry blossom spots, with recent weather conditions creating a bumper year for the trees. On Thursday, dozens of people flocked to Battersea park to take pictures under the blooming row of cherry blossom trees.

The National Trust has vowed to plant 4m blossoming trees across England, Wales and Northern Ireland by 2030 as part of its wider tree-planting mission, as well as its Blossom Watch campaign, which encourages people to embrace the fleeting beauty of the trees each year.

“We’ve taken inspiration from the hanami festivals in Japan where there are blossom trees on a huge scale. Certainly, we’ve experienced lots of tourists coming to take photos of the blossoms and share them,” said Tom Grosvenor, a senior project manager for the National Trust in Birmingham.

Japanese snack company Sakuraco recently posted a list of the best UK cherry blossom spots for its customers, including a number of London parks and National Trust sites, if they want to experience sakura (cherry blossom) abroad.

“The original idea started during the first lockdown, which just so happened to coincide with blossom season. There was such an appetite for it so the programme celebrating blossom has gone from strength to strength and has become almost like a festival,” Grosvenor added.

He is leading the Birmingham Blossom programme, which saw 600 blossom trees planted along the city’s number 11 bus route in January to create a “ring of blossom”