Life & Style

Catalonia is still the leading Autonomous Community in Spain in terms of tourism, even before the Balearic Islands, and accounts for 25.1% of the overall total of visits by foreigners. 1,797,966 tourists from all over the world visited Catalonia in September, according to the poll 'Frontur', published this Thursday by the Spanish Ministry of Industry, Energy and Tourism. The figure is 0,1% lower than in the same period last year, when 1,801,736 foreigners visited Catalonia and is due to the decrease in the number of Russian and Italian visitors. Tourists from the UK still lead the ranking of foreign visitors, followed by Germans. Visits from France and the US grew the most. Nearly 14 million international tourists visited Catalonia from January to September, which is 3.2% higher than the same period last year.

The Catalan railway service (FGC) has launched a pilot experiment to learn English during train journeys. The trial started this Monday and two passengers received a one-hour long lesson during their journey from Manresa to Barcelona. The initiative will be tested throughout the month on different railway lines and FGC will then evaluate its definitive implementation. "If it works, we'll do it as a permanent initiative" stated FGC's President Enric Ticó and added that "the goal is to make journeys more pleasant". The lessons will be mainly conversational and are set to be offered to small groups and within an area designated for this purpose. The lessons' duration will run from 15 minutes to more than one hour and will be free of charge as long as the trial is taking place. 

From the 14^th to the 18^th of October, Barcelona will host a new edition of the International Boat Show. 260 exhibitors from all over the world will present their wares in sports and recreational boats, distributed throughout the 50,000-square metre exhibition, with the biggest being displayed afloat and the floor hosting smaller boats and components. The Fair's President, Luis Conde, forecasts a "spectacular edition" this year, as the nautical sector "is recovering, in line with the rest of the economy". In fact, the number of boats registered this year has increased by 10%. According to Conde, the Barcelona International Boat Show "is the main platform of the nautical sector in Spain" and a must in any boat lover's agenda.

From the 10^th to the 14^th of October, the German city of Cologne will host Anuga, the world’s most important Food and Agriculture Fair which gathered together, in its last edition, nearly 7,000 exhibitors from 100 countries. Catalonia’s food industry will be represented through two main sectors; olive oil and nuts on the one hand, and cold meats on the other. The Catalan Ministry of Agriculture, Livestock, Fishery and Food is aware of the importance of the EU market, as more than 50% of Catalonia’s food and beverage production is exported there. Moreover, the EU is the biggest consumer of food and beverages, ahead of the US and China.

From the 18^th to the 24^th of September, Barcelona celebrates ‘Mercè’, its patron saint. More than 500 activities will be held all over the city, from ‘castells’, traditional Catalan human towers, through international music festivals, to folklore parades and fireworks. Some of the most iconic buildings in the city will be open to the public. ‘Barcelona Acció Musical’, the music festival that takes place during ‘La Mercè’, has scheduled more than 90 concerts throughout the week. This year there will be more international artists than ever before. More than 20 artists from all over the world will perform. Different audio-visual ‘mappings’, will be projected onto the facades of several of Barcelona’s iconic buildings and the festival will close with a performance that synchronises music with fireworks known as ‘Piromusical’.

The health benefits of the Mediterranean diet have been endorsed by two new research projects as part of the study group PREDIMED (Prevention with Mediterranean Diet). One of the projects concluded that a Mediterranean diet supplemented with olive oil reduces the risk of diabetic patients suffering from retinopathy, the leading cause of blindness amongst these patients, by 44%, as published in the journal ‘Diabetes Care’, coordinated by the Catalan University, Rovira i Virgili (URV). In the other study, published in the journal ‘JAMA Internal Medicine’, the Mediterranean diet was associated with a 68% relative reduction in risk of breast cancer. This study was coordinated by the University of Navarra and researchers from URV also participated.

The Museum of Wine Culture of Catalonia (VINSEUM) is exporting the enotourism model of its Penedès region to the Uruguayan towns of Montevideo and Canelones. The museum is coordinating a collaboration project with these Latin American cities in order to boost their wine industry. The strategy is to mirror the steps taken by cellars in Catalonia’s Penedès region, one of the oldest and most renowned wine-producing regions in the Iberian Peninsula, especially well-known for Cava, a Catalan sparkling wine. The project, which includes visits by Uruguayan producers to Catalonia, is also an opportunity for the Penedès region to boost its reputation in Latin America.

By 21 August thousands of people are expected to have attended Gràcia’s local street festival, organised around its Patron Saint’s day. The programme of 'Festes de Gràcia' includes Catalan traditional human towers (called 'castells'), live music, exhibitions, activities for kids and much more. However, one of the most popular traditions in Gràcia during this festival is the street decoration. Indeed, most public spaces are included in an amateur competition where groups of neighbours embellish their own streets and squares so that many spots in the neighbourhood are thematically decorated. Although locals play a very important role in the festival, each year thousands of visitors, from the rest of Barcelona, but also from all over the world, come to the neighbourhood and take part in the celebration, which is gaining popularity worldwide.

In the last few years, tourism has boomed in Barcelona. In 2014, the Catalan capital was the 4^th most visited city in Europe and 16^th in the world, with almost 8 million foreign visitors that year. Especially during high season, visitors literally invade some parts of the city such as Les Rambles, Antoni Gaudí's main creations and the urban beaches. However, there is much more to Barcelona than just this. Indeed, the city has 73 different neighbourhoods, divided up into 10 districts, each one with its own particular soul and history. For example, inside the district of Sant Martí – just outside Barcelona's historical centre – the neighbourhood of Poblenou is located. Historically known as the 'Catalan Manchester' for its role as the city's industrial centre in the 19^th and early 20^th century, nowadays it is becoming a very attractive place to live for many young people. Strongly revitalised after the 1992 Olympic Games and currently characterised by a rich architectural landscape and vibrant artistic scene, it represents the city's new business and technology district, being also very interesting for tourists willing to step outside of the usual routes.

Between the 5^th and 16^th of August, Barcelona will once again become the world's LGBT capital. For the 8^th consecutive year, the Catalan capital and its metropolitan area will play host to the Circuit Festival, which comprises a wide range of parties, concerts, sports events and other leisure activities for gay, lesbian, bisexual and transsexual people. The organisers expect more than 72,000 to attend this year, with 80% of them being foreigners. The average attendee is a gay male aged between 25-40, spending 250 euros per day and staying 8.4 days. However, the organisers also stress that many women and people of many other age groups are also coming to enjoy the festival and the manifold targeted activities. They estimate that the LGBT festival will bring €150 million to the local economy. Indeed, it is one of Barcelona's most important and most international events in terms of number of attendees and economic impact, although it is still way behind the city's jewel, the Mobile World Congress.

The City Council of the Catalan capital has announced it will remit 80% of the fine on tourist apartments with no licence located in Barcelona's Ciutat Vella district if the owners put the property up for social housing rent for a minimum of 3 years. Once this period is over, the owner will be able to extend the social rent or pay the remaining 20% of the fine. The City Council explained that the initiative is "a pilot test" in order "to start changing the city's tourist model", as tourists are too concentrated in some areas. This has created some friction with locals, mostly due to some visitors' wild street parties and to the rise in rent prices, as many properties have been transformed into tourist rentals, quite often without a licence. In this vein, the City Council will ask digital platforms such as Airbnb for the identification data of all their rentals in Barcelona. These platforms will be fined for each illegal flat on offer or if they refuse to issue the requested list.

The Catalan Government has presented a decree, pending approval "in the coming months," that will regulate up to eight types of tourist accommodations, including new types that until now were not contemplated by the law, like motorhome areas, casual Bed & Breakfasts and informal rentals. The decree is an effort to quell the rapid expansion of tourist accommodations in newer platforms – like the Internet service Airbnb – and bring already-existing establishments under control.  The Catalan Minister for Business and Employment, Felip Puig, said all establishments must be registered. For Bed&Breakfasts and Airbnb rentals (or similar platforms) its users must pay a tourist tax of 0.65€ in Barcelona and 0.45€ in the rest of Catalonia. In addition, the City Councils will determine which areas can be used for placement of accommodations.

Every year the sounds of fireworks popping and crackling perforate the air in Catalonia in the days leading up to Sant Joan's Eve (Nit de Sant Joan). The yearly festival culminates in a massive party on the night of 23 June, when locals celebrate the holiday by setting off mass amounts of fireworks and igniting bonfires, known in Catalan as 'fogueres'. At midnight, there is a spectacular fireworks display, marking the climax of the celebration. The bonfires of Sant Joan have special meaning for Catalan-speaking regions, and the festival is considered a Catalan national holiday. The tradition as it exists today traces its roots back to pagan rituals and coincides with the summer solstice, marking the beginning of the summer.

An increasing number of people are fed up with living in concrete jungles. Many think of the countryside as a solution to problems such as stress, a low-paying job and pollution. Due to the start of the economic crisis, this phenomenon boomed, with people beginning to look for an 'alternative way of life' or, at least, new opportunities. Catalonia and the whole of Spain are no exception to this. Here, moving (back) to the countryside nowadays looks like an attractive option to many, especially to young unemployed graduates. However, sustainable agriculture initiatives and the like are the 'junior division' compared to more complex social, cultural and ecological experiments: the eco-villages. Coming in different shapes and sizes, their members share resources and spaces, grow their own food and cover in a sustainable way the energy demand of the buildings they live in. With different missions and features, many eco-villages can be traced back to one or two decades ago and could teach a lot to newcomers.

The 10^th edition of Barcelona Design Week started Monday with a programme of more than 70 activities, under the slogan 'Design is here!' ('el Disseny és aquí'). The event is a call for companies, designers and other agents of the business, innovation and creativity fields, and it is also open to the wider public, with event locations scattered throughout Barcelona. Barcelona Design Week also marks the beginning of the 5^th Barcelona Design Festival, which is being held from 8 June to 5 July. Among the new features is the 'Design is Future Congresstival,' midway between the conference and the festival, which delves into the world of innovation through design.