Catalonia turns to culture to attract higher-value tourists and extend season

Catalonia is stepping up efforts to attract more culturally motivated visitors, extend the tourist season and spread tourism beyond its best-known destinations, as it seeks to shift its strategy from visitor numbers to higher-value tourism.

The Catalan Tourism Agency (ACT) is using this week's World Travel Market in London, one of the international tourism industry's leading trade fairs, to strengthen ties with the British market and promote Catalonia's cultural and heritage offer.

"Culture is a cross-cutting element that can be found throughout Catalonia and allows us to attract visitors outside the peak season and across the territory," the agency's director general, Arantxa Calvera, told the Catalan News Agency (ACN).

The aim is to make culture a more prominent factor in British travellers' decisions, attracting visitors interested in discovering Catalonia's cultural diversity, exploring less familiar areas and travelling at different times of the year.

"The agency's new strategy is very clear: we are moving from volume to value," Calvera said. "We want to attract cultural travellers because they have a genuine interest in getting to know our destination, our culture, our identity and our way of doing things."

She added that these visitors tend to be respectful and seek experiences rooted in local communities.

More than 20 Catalan tourism businesses and organisations are attending the London fair, at a stand of more than 300 square metres designed to connect them with international operators and generate new business opportunities.

Promoting alternatives to Barcelona

Ignacio Grijalvo, director of travel company Across Spain, said there was still considerable work to do to establish a tourism model centred on culture.

He cautioned against equating higher-value tourism exclusively with five-star hotels and luxury travel.

Catalonia needed to promote experiences that "genuinely set destinations apart," he said, highlighting the Costa Brava, inland Empordà, the Pyrenees, the Ebre Delta and Priorat, as well as natural parks around Barcelona.

Grijalvo also warned that overcrowding in Barcelona could become "horrific" and argued for promoting attractions beyond established landmarks such as the Sagrada Família.

He cited Reus's Modernist architecture and heritage as an example of the kind of experience that could draw visitors elsewhere in Catalonia.

Rising fuel prices

Meanwhile, the tourism industry is facing growing uncertainty over rising fuel prices linked to the conflict in the Middle East.

Octavi Bono, director general of the Tarragona Provincial Council's tourism board, said operators had less room to absorb inflationary pressures, while some businesses were already reporting weaker demand.

The Catalan Tourism Agency nevertheless maintains that the Catalonia's broad cultural offer and geographical diversity can help it remain competitive and attract visitors throughout the year.