Three out of four Catalans believe tourism's impact on society is positive or very positive

Three out of four Catalans, or 75% of the population, believe that tourism's impact on society is positive or very positive, based on data released in the first Òmnibus survey of the year of the Catalan statistics institute (CEO), published on Wednesday.

58% of citizens say it is positive, and 17% say it is very positive. On the other hand, 16% say that the effects are adverse.

The survey shows that 69% of the 1,797 surveyed say that tourism campaigns are still required. However, 55% of the answers say that tourists limit residents' activities. And almost over half of the surveyed, 51%, say that the limit on visitors is nearly reached.

The surveys were made between February 13 and April 14, months before the Catalan president, Salvador Illa, announced a plan to expand the Barcelona airport.

Illa said on Tuesday that the cabinet, the Spanish transport ministry, and Spain's airport manager AENA had reached a deal to invest €3.2 billion to conclude the works by 2033.

Speaking in Catalan to those who look like foreigners

The same survey also shows that only two out of ten Catalans start conversing in the Catalan language with someone who looks like a foreigner. Meanwhile, 71% of those who start a conversation use Spanish.

Overall, 43% of citizens say that always or very often start a conversation in Catalan, while 38% say they mostly never or never start a chat in Catalan.

Almost three out of four, 74% of those surveyed, believe that it is important to improve the offer of Catalan language courses for migrants.

The Òmnibus survey also shows that 82% of those surveyed favor reducing the workweek to 37.5 hours. The workweek reduction is pending Spanish Congress approval.

55% of the respondents are very much in favor, and 28% are in favor.