A Pyrenees brand
Gastronomy will be one of the main aspects of the new Pyrenees and Pre-Pyrenees tourist offer, which also combines Romanesque art, breathtaking lanscapes, trekking paths, ski slopes, etc. The initiative aims to bring together the varied offers from 11 counties with gastronomy in order to generate tourism.
Barcelona (Gastroteca.cat).- Eleven counties in the Pyrenees and Pre-Pyrenees territory are coming together as part of an initiative to broaden their gastronomic offer. The counties of Pallars Jussà, Pallars Sobirà, Alt Urgell, Alta Ribagorça, Vall d'Aran, el Solsonès, Berguedà, Garrotxa, Alt Empordà, Cerdanya and Ripollès are banding together in the creation of a Pyrenees brand.
While the mountain range unites the areas, their tourist offers vary greatly. This is not seen as an inconvenience, but rather a motive to build a Pyrenees tourist offer. Rainer Brusis, the director of the company Innova Management, is working to promote the Pyrenees tourist brand. “It is evident that we are talking about a varied offer, an offer with natural parks, ski slopes, long-distance trekking paths and world heritage Romanesque art. We have everything here and it would be absurd for someone to come to the Pyrenees and cover such a rich and diverse offer. But we do see very interesting possibilities in commercialising fixed stays or 5 to 6 day trips that centre on one of these threads, whether it be skiing in Baqueira, Romanesque art in Boí, the lottery in Bruixa d'Or, etc. This will be combined with an essential gastronomic offer. The only question is if gastronomy will play a central role in generting tourism in the Pyrenees, like in Alt Urgell, where the hotel-restuarant Castellciutat is becoming an important aspect of the tourist offer.”
To kick off the new Pyrenees brand, Innova Management is holding events throughout the Pyrenees counties, highlighting their recent success at the Parador d'Arties hotel in the Vall d'Aran. Another event took place at the Consell Comarcal de la Cerdanya. The head of tourism in the area, Eduard Correa, spoke of the initiative. “Cerdenya is a brand that serves those who know it, but if we draw imaginary circles every 300 kilometres with the centre in Puigcerdà, at the 2nd circle it is already very rare for someone to know the names of the counties. The Pyrenees brand, on the other hand, is very well known. This helps us when, for instance, we act de facto as a large county reservation centre, always acting in collaboration with the rest of the area’s tourist sectors, one of which is cuisine.” Cuisine that, in the case of Pyrenees and Pre-Pyrenees counties, can benefit from the commercialisation of a collective brand.