tourist industry

Despite a decrease in Russian visitors, Catalonia increased the number of international tourists it hosted during 2014. Some 16.7 million foreigners travelled to Catalonia last year, which sets a new historic record. In addition, it represents a 7.2% increase on 2013 figures. International visitors spent more than €15 billion during their stay, 6.1% more than in 2013. Therefore, foreign tourism accounted for some 7.5% of Catalonia’s entire GDP during 2014. Each tourist spent an average of €900 during their stay. The Catalan Minister for Business and Employment, Felip Puig, presented the figures on Wednesday and emphasised that the objective for future years is not so much to increase the number of tourists but rather to increase the revenue which they bring in. 

Beyond Barcelona, other port cities in Catalonia that are also cruise ship destinations are closing the 2014 season with positive results. The Ports of Palamós and Roses in Girona’s Costa Brava (northern Catalonia), and that of Sant Carles de la Ràpita in the Ebro Delta (south of Tarragona Province) will be closing this season having brought a total of 43,000 passengers on 50 cruise ships. This will have generated a total of €3 million for the local economy. The Port of Palamós has had its second best season in history with 38,616 passengers and 36 cruises. The Port of Roses closed the season in October with 10 cruise ships bringing a total of 3,700 passengers, while that of Sant Carles de la Ràpita brought a total of 4 ships and half a thousand passengers to the region. The city of Tarragona, which received approximately 2,000 passengers in 2013, is hoping to double these figures for 2014. Moreover, the Port Authority of Tarragona is planning to build a new terminal over the next four years, with a goal of bringing 40,000 or 50,000 passengers per year when completed.

On Monday, the 'World Travel Market' (WTM) opened in London and Catalonia is participating with a 300 m² exhibition stand promoting a variety of its tourist destinations and highlighting its uniqueness with areas as diverse as the city of Barcelona, the Costa Brava and the Penedès wine region. The WTM is highly important in the tourism and travel industry, and represents a crucial opportunity for business networking and attractive investment. Catalonia’s participation strengthens its growing importance as a holiday destination for British tourists, who have increased by 4% and represent revenue of €1 billion in the first 10 months of 2014, the second largest after the French. Through the event, Catalan companies will mix with 5,000 other organizations from 200 countries, with an estimated 50,000 professionals from the industry participating.

Barcelona will be hosting the International Boat Show 2014, between the 15^th and the 19^th of October. The 54^th Edition of the Show is expected to be the most successful yet, and organizers are confident it will show that the marine industry has left the crisis behind for the first time in 7 years. The Port of Barcelona is the perfect location for such an event, and is a significant contributor to the Catalan economy. An exhibition of both commercial and recreational marine vessels, organizers expect high levels of participation and sales. One of the highlights of the exhibition will be Lehr and Nautigas, maker of the innovative engine that runs on propane, leading the way in environmentally-friendly vessels. Among the show’s 19 facilities there will also be organic fuels on display, with explanations of both their environmental and financial benefits.  

Barcelona is the 4^th most visited city in Europe and the 16^th in the world, welcoming 8 million tourists each year. It is acknowledged to be Spain's industrial hub where international trade fairs and conferences are being held. In addition, it is one of the top destinations among Erasmus students and the main cruise ship harbour in Europe. However, thanks to cheap airlines, Barcelona has also developed a reputation for low-cost tourism that often focuses on holidays of beach, booze and partying. On the one hand, this shows the young and fun atmosphere of the city and contributes significantly to the economy. On the other hand, according to locals, the so-called ''drunken tourism'' tarnishes Barcelona's reputation and has negative impacts. The City Council aims to control this kind of tourism and is currently attempting to introduce stricter regulations for holiday rent apartments. It has already banned land-based bar crawls around the city and wants to ensure the legality of alcohol-based boat trips as it does not have control over the city's waters.  

Tourism booms in Spain, with 9 million international visitors in August 2014, up by 8.8% since last year. Official data shows record breaking numbers, with August being the busiest month. In the first seven months of this year, tourists spent over €34.5 billion, the highest number in history. Catalonia is the most popular destination, attracting over 2.4 million tourists in August alone, a 7.5% increase from last year. Following Catalonia, the best results were seen in the Balearic Islands and Andalucía, all of which showed significant increases in recorded visitors for this year. August has been the busiest month on record, with tourists mainly coming from France and Italy, while over the whole year, the most frequent visitor continues to be British.

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 ‘Allure of the Seas’, which is currently the largest cruise ship in the world, will operate from 2015 onwards from the Port of Barcelona. Next year, it will offer 25 different routes from or to the Catalan capital. For each trip, the ‘Allure of the Seas’, which belongs to Royal Caribbean, welcomes 6,318 passengers on board. Due to the considerable size of the boat - 361 meters long - passengers will access and exit the facilities through two terminals of Barcelona’s Harbour. Royal Caribbean stated that the 158,000 passengers expected to travel on all 25 routes will bring €17.5 million to Barcelona’s local economy each year. It will be the first time the ‘Allure of the Seas’, which currently operates in the Caribbean, will drop anchor in a European harbour.

The project ‘Persecuted and Saved’ will tell the story of how 80,000 WW2 refugees escaped persecution and death through the Pyrenees mountains into Catalonia. The Israel Ambassador in Spain, Alon Bar, and the CEO of EL-AL - the main Israeli airline, Walter Wasercier, have already taken a key interest in the project, aiming to promote the history of the 20,000 Jews that used the mountains to escape from the Holocaust and obtain their freedom. The project is based in the Province of Lleida, in western Catalonia, around various historical sites, including refugee camps and mountain pathways used by fleeing refugees.

An investment fund from Qatar has bought the Hotel Renaissance, located in the Eixample neighbourhood of the Catalan capital. Inici del formulariAccording to La Vanguardianewspaper, the transaction was closed at the price of €78.5 million. The Marriott Group will continue running the establishment as the agreement provides for a long-term management, but the Qatari buyer will participate in the most strategic decisions. The hotel passed from having four-stars when it belonged to AC Hotels, to five stars, after being purchased by the Marriott Group. Its workforce expanded considerably to reach a hundred employees after its re-opening in March 2012. The hotel features 211 rooms and had an average occupancy of 67 % during its first opening year.

Last year, Catalonia was the leading Autonomous Community in Spain for foreign tourism spending, which generated €14.02 billion, 13.4 % more than in 2012, according to the Tourist Expenditure Survey (EGATUR) of the Spanish Ministry of Industry, Energy and Tourism. The average spending per stay in Catalonia amounted to €903 per foreign visitor, 4.9% more than in 2012, while the daily spending was set at €120 per person, 1.4 % more than the previous year. Catalonia accounted for 23.7 % of foreign tourism spending in Spain, which reached €59.08 billion. Besides, tourism spending grew more in Catalonia than in any other Autonomous Communities in Spain and is well above the Spanish 9.6 % average increase over the previous year.

According to the Spanish Statistics Institute (INE), the 49.26 million overnight stays registered in 2013 amounted to a 1.82% increase on the previous year, thanks to a 5.34% rise for foreign guests. On the other hand, due to the economic crisis, the number of overnight stays for Spaniards fell by 6.82%. The number of visitors who stayed in one of Catalonia’s 2,122 hotels in 2013 reached a total of 16.240 million people, an increase of 0.02 % over 2012. The number of foreign guests also increased, by 3.62 %, while the number of Spanish visitors fell by 5.66 %. Catalan hotels registered a 55.55% occupancy rate, above the 55.51% posted in 2012.

In 2013, Catalonia was the first tourist destination in Spain. It received15.6 million foreign visitors, meaning 25.7 % of the total number of international tourists in Spain (one in four). The figure represents an 8% increase over the previous year. The Balearic Islands were in second place, welcoming over 11 million tourists (18.3%), a 7.2% increase. The Catalan Minister for Business and Employment, Felip Puig, stressed that tourist spending also increased significantly, generating €14.2 billion in 2013, that is to say 14% more than the previous year. At Spanish level, the number of foreign visitors reached a new record: Spain welcomed 60.6 million tourists in 2013, making it the third favourite travel destination in the world, behind France and the United States.

In the first eleven months of 2013, Catalonia has been the favourite destination in Spain for international visitors. Indeed, 14,838,018 foreign tourists have travelled to Catalonia during this period, meaning 25.8 % of the total number of international visitors in Spain. This represents an increase of 7.4% over the same period in 2012. In November, Catalonia has welcomed 836,654 foreign tourists and has only been surpassed by the Canary Islands (1,073,759). Stays in hotels have also registered an upward trend: they have increased by 8.6% at Spanish level this month and by 4.1% in Catalonia. The majority of these foreign tourists come from France, the UK, and Germany while the number of visitors from Russia and Belgium has also increased significantly.

Since January, 8.7 million foreign visitors have come to Catalonia, a rise of 5.1% on the same period of 2012. Catalonia has become the main tourist destination in the whole of Spain during July, with 2.1 million foreign visitors, according to a survey carried out by the Institute of Touristic Studies. This figure represents a 3.1% rise on July 2012. Catalonia now receives 26.7% of Spain’s total international tourists. French tourists account for the largest share, with an increase of 1.9% on last year, representing a third of all foreign tourists. However, it is Russians that have contributed most to this significant growth. Spain as a whole received 34 million tourists since January, with July setting a new record.