Business

Catalonia Trade and Investment’s Innovation Barometer presented on Wednesday shows innovation in Catalonia is growing

Barcelona area  holds one of the industry’s leading congresses with eSports at the center of the debate 

Coastal destinations to feel the brunt with occupancy rates of over 90%, while top  inland choices expect 8 out of 10 rooms to be full in August

Catalonia outgrows Spain with latest figures for foreign investment best since 1993 while president Puigdemont calls on Madrid to fulfill infrastructure commitments

The country attracts nearly half of foreign manufacturing investment in Spain

Catalonia leads on sales abroad, doubling Madrid, which came in second in the ranking

Argentinian government guarantees the leading Catalan road management multinational a license extension until 2030

The total goods transported through the Port of Barcelona grew by 20.2% while the Port also received more than 1 million passengers in only 5 months

The Commission for Economic Affairs adopts the draft law that could set the basis for a Catalan fiscal system separate from Spain's

The CEO of the Port of Barcelona, Sixte Cambra, warned that it may negatively affect the country’s economy

The Scandinavian airline is offering 255,000 seats during its first complete year of operations in Barcelona

Catalan Minister Josep Rull calls for "excellent rail infrastructure" to boost the productivity of the Mediterranean ports

The low-cost airline also serves Buenos Aires, San Francisco and Punta Cana and will offer new destinations soon

The Catalan Minister of Economy and Finance, Oriol Junqueras, defended the good health of the Catalan economy on Friday and insisted on the Catalan executive’s commitment to continue within the European Union in case of independence. At the 33th Annual Meeting of the Economy Circle in Sitges, Junqueras confirmed that his executive expects to surpass 2.7% of annual economic growth and highlighted the fact that Catalonia account for 85% of the deficit reduction of all administrations in Spain. The Catalan minister also used the opportunity to communicate a message of calm to the economic sector, guaranteeing that “Catalonia will not leave the EU in case of independence” since there is “absolutely no legal mechanism that foresees this case”. Along this line, Junqueras stressed the “firm pro-European commitment” of the Catalan government and its determination of “strengthening” a common project and creating “excellent relationships” with neighbors, “especially Spain”. In this case, however, like “two states with the same powers”.

Barcelona’s El Prat Airport registered 32.2 million international passengers last year, more than huge airports like JFK in New York or Narita in Tokyo. Barcelona has the 17th most transited airport in the world, according to the Airports Council International (ACI). There was an 11% growth in passengers traveling outside Spain from Barcelona over last year. Madrid-Barajas is still the main Spanish airport, with 36.1 million passengers, but El Prat is growing much faster. Those good results last year are not enough. Barcelona is looking to take a huge intercontinental leap forward in 2017. After hitting a record in 2016, the facility is now ranked seventh among European airports. The launch of the new long-haul operating hubs of Norwegian and Level are bringing it closer to becoming an international hub for a combination of European low-cost airlines and foreign companies.