tourism in barcelona

The Catalan Government announced last September the ‘BCN World’ project, a mega-resort that will be built on the Costa Daurada, near Tarragona and Salou. According to the forecasts, the construction will cost €4.7 billion and the opening is scheduled for 2016. The complex will consist of six casinos and theme parks, 12,000 hotel rooms, golf courts and a smart city, among other aspects. The initiative was presented just a few hours before it was confirmed that Sheldon Adelson’s ‘Eurovegas’ would go to Madrid, although the Catalan Government denied that ‘BCN World’ is the alternative project. While experts validate the economic viability of the project, they do question the suitability of this leisure model in Europe. Just weeks before construction begins, there are still a lot of questions without being answered.

The number of passengers going through Barcelona’s Airport between January and October grew by 4%, compared to the same period last year. In just 10 months, the airport of the Catalan capital had more passengers than in the entire of 2010. The number of international passengers increased by 6.2% and those coming from the Middle East, non-Schengen Europe and Argentina grew by 25%. In fact, Barcelona El Prat’s expansion strategy is focused on international flights, especially increasing the number of intercontinental flights and their destinations. However, the number of domestic flight passengers dropped by 11.1%.

Emirates have announced they will link Barcelona with Dubai with a daily flight commencing in July. Furthermore, Spanair have announced connections with Beirut and Moscow, as well as more flights with Germany, France, Croatia and Serbia.