,
Lloret de Mar, Salou and Sitges considering tourism model in local elections
Coastal municipalities to look for new opportunities to welcome visitors throughout the year
,
Coastal municipalities to look for new opportunities to welcome visitors throughout the year
Police investigate 11 cases in Lloret de Mar and three in Barcelona
People visiting the Costa Brava resort can be tested for Covid-19 for just €52
The hugely popular tourist town is preparing itself for the summer season and welcoming visitors again
Catalan resorts are cracking down on so-called binge tourism but it has come at a cost
The Catalan Government wants to put a stop to ‘binge tourism’ and will therefore expel from the Catalan Tourism Agency (ACT) those establishments which promote it. The decision came after a meeting with representatives from the Association of Tourism Employers of the Counties of Penedès and Garraf (ADEPG). Director General of Tourism Marian Muro called on businessmen of the sector “to be brave” and preserve Catalonia as a prestigious tourist destination and “contribute” so that its image “won’t be damaged”. Indeed, an operator that organised the so-called ‘Karibean Spring Break’ in Salou, which was promoted directly to young foreigners and used binge drinking and the expectation of sex as a promotional tool to lure the young tourists, has withdrawn this tourism package from the market.
In 2013, in terms of occupancy rates, the town of Lloret de Mar (Costa Brava, north-eastern Catalonia), is the second tourist destination in Catalonia, behind Barcelona, and the fifth in Spain. According to data published by the Spanish Statistics Institute (INE), Lloret de Mar registered 4,989,836 overnight stays during 2013. Foreign tourists were an overwhelming majority, accounting for 4,310,537 of these stays. Besides, between January and December, the town surpassed one million tourists, with a majority of foreign visitors, from France (203,400 people) , Germany (124,000), Russia (107,600) and the United Kingdom (84,800).
Lloret de Mar is one of the most popular tourist destinations along the Costa Brava yet some tourists themselves are tearing this beach resort apart. Clashes with police, particularly over the last month, have sparked calls for greater security and a crack-down on the drinking culture that has fostered in the town.
A new concept casino has recently opened in Lloret de Mar in Catalonia. The Gran Casino Costa Brava consists of 2,000 square metres of gambling space and a conference centre next to the Mediterranean Sea.