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The Irish Sun

Spain's ‘Blue Village' that used to be known for the Smurfs reveals plans to attract MORE tourists

SPAIN's 'Blue Village' remains the same nearly 15 years after it was painted the bright colour - because of an iconic film. The village painted itself blue back in 2011 when it was chosen to host the new Smurf film that year. Advertisement 6 A village in Spain is painted entirely blue Credit: Alamy 6 The stunt was for the Smurfs film - but the colour stuck Credit: Alamy 6 More than 1,000 gallons of paint was used Credit: Alamy The publicity stunt saw more than 1,000 gallons of paint being used to cover all of the buildings in the village. Along with the brightly coloured buildings, there is a hotel, as well as restaurants and bars, A mushroom museum and playground are ideal for kids visiting the village too. Following the stunt, tourism numbers soared to 80,000 a year, compared to just a few hundred. Advertisement Read more on Spain This is compared to the number of locals which is around just 250. Despite the Smurf film now being more than a decade old, the village has retained the blue buildings. At the time, murals of the Smurfs were painted throughout as well as statues of Smurf Mayor, Smurfette and Student Smurf. Sadly, many of the Smurf icons have been removed in recent years, due to licensing disagreements. Advertisement Most read in News Travel This means the statues can no longer be spotted. Despite this, locals are still wanting to keep the village as a tourist destination. Dad's bizarre collection of 10,000 SMURFS could be biggest on the planet - and he keeps it in a van Pilar Tabuyo, who own's the village pharmacy, created a story called Bienvenidos a La Aldea Azul (Welcome to the Blue Village) to explain the history of the unusual coloured town. They told Advertisement "I'm confident the tourist appeal will continue, as we're reinventing ourselves with the blue, thanks to the contributions and creativity of each local resident." And rather than a Smurf mascot, they have the new Sastre - who is known as a "chestnut chef". 6 There are new plans to attract tourists outside of the Smurfs Credit: Alamy 6 Just 250 people live in the village Credit: Alamy Advertisement This is because of the natural landscape being surrounded by chestnut trees, with a number of festivals and food dishes famous for using the local produce. You can still expect to get a Smurf souvenir, thankfully, with them sold at the local shops. A resort town in Turkey has attracted tourists after being And here's an island in Advertisement Closer to home are the 6 New plans will include a new mascot and push for its local produce - chestnuts Credit: Alamy