Shops in Barcelona to open on Sunday during the summer to increase revenue from tourists

Barcelona (ACN).- An agreement between the Centre-Right pro-Catalan State Coalition (CiU) – which runs Barcelona's municipal government in minority – and the People's Party (PP) will allow shops located in tourist areas of the Catalan capital to be open on Sundays during the summer season from 10am to 6pm. Shops in Catalonia are normally closed on Sundays, with few exceptions for the Christmas or sales seasons. However, shops in small tourist towns are allowed greater flexibility during holidays and can open on Sundays. The case of Barcelona is quite unusual, since it is the largest tourist destination in Catalonia but it is also a big city with a dense network of small and neighbourhood shops. These small shops could be damaged if they have to open longer hours (with the increase of financial and personal costs associated) in order to compete with multinationals. The issue has been on the table for years. It has been adopted now in order to profit from the tourist revenues in times of economic crisis. Reactions from local shop representatives has been positive, while the left-wing opposition criticised the measure as they fear it will put the local retail network in danger.

On Sunday 6^th of July, many shops in Barcelona will be open, notably those located in tourist areas. The CiU and PP agreement will be voted on the 27^th of June, and will be in place by early July. It is restricted to shops located in the Ciutat Vella and L'Eixample districts, as well as in certain areas of Gràcia, Sants and Sant Martí districts. Furthermore, the large shopping malls will be excluded from the measure.

Restricted opening hours compared to a regular day

The shops will not be allowed to open early in the morning or to remain open until late in the evening. The agreement foresees restricted opening hours: from 10am to 6 pm. Normally shops can open until 10pm and start early in the morning. However, the finally approved measure offers longer hours than the initial plan of Barcelona's Mayor, Xavier Trias, who wanted shops in tourist areas to open on Sundays only from 10am to 2pm.

The final agreement allows them to open for 8 consecutive hours. However, they will not be allowed to open on all the days of the summer season, since on the bank holidays of 15^th of August and 11^th of September, they will have to stay closed. In any case, the measure's period covers the peak of the summer tourist season: from early July until mid- September.

Reactions to the measure

The platform Barcelona Oberta, which represents 11 associations of neighbourhood retailers, is happy with the measure, since it is only limited to tourist areas. On top of this, they would like the measure to include longer hours and more periods of the year. The business association Fundació Barcelona Comerç, which represents local shops, is also satisfied with the initiative.

However, the left-wing opposition parties are against it. The Catalan Socialist Party (PSC) considers that the agreement is "a new improvisation" that goes against "proximity shops". The Left-Wing Catalan Independence Party (ERC) considers that the agreement reached between the CiU and the PP is "the end of a successful model", it "breaks Barcelona's model" and it also "breaks the territorial unity" regarding this economic activity.