tourism

A newly published book, 'Catalunya de Pel·lícula' offers 25 trails, covering 300 sites across 145 Catalan towns that have together featured in over 175 films. The work aims to be a reference guide for all those tourists interested in the world of cinema, who want to learn famous Catalan destinations through thematic routes linked to films. The book, written by author Eugeni Osácar and published by the Department of the Catalan Tourism Agency, was presented on Thursday at the Palau Robert by Catalan Minister for Enterprise and Employment, Felip Puig.

In the first five months of 2014, the number of foreign visitors increased by 8% to almost 5.5 million people. Catalonia is the autonomous community in Spain that attracts the most tourists, one in four of all foreign visitors to Spain. This is according to the latest figures from the Spanish Ministry of Industry, Energy and Tourism. The strongest increases in visitors came from the Netherlands, Germany, Italy and Asia, although the UK, Germany and France are still the three countries that sent more tourists to Catalonia.

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.

In May 2014 the Catalan airfield recorded 3,397,097 passengers, a 5.5% increase on May last year. Madrid's international airport exceeded this number with a total 3,544,649 passengers, 147,562 more than its Catalan rival, with a 4.1% growth. Madrid's airport has recovered from the 10% losses registered over the last 2 years, but it grows much slower than its Catalan competitor. One of the reasons for Barcelona's growth is the notable increase of intercontinental flyers. In the first 5 months of 2014, 13,517,143 people flew from Barcelona, a 7% increase from the same period in 2013. The equivalent figure from Madrid is 15,808,392, representing a 2.8% increase. Meanwhile, the number of passengers arriving at Girona- Costa Brava Airport, continues to decline, with a fall of 20% since 2013.

The Catalan Parliament has finally approved the legal framework allowing the construction and the activities of the BCN World mega-resort, to be located next to PortAventura amusement park in the Costa Daurada. Now, the company Veremonte has the final green light to start construction, after it already had announced the first investors some months ago. Casino giant Melco, hotel brand Melià, US Hard Rock, Value Retail shopping malls and Investindustrial, which owns PortAventura, will participate in the $6 billion project. Furthermore, Ferrari announced it will build its first theme park in Europe there. BCN World involves 6 mega-casinos, large-size hotels, shopping malls, convention centres, theatres, golf courses, parks, a beach club, technology institutes and smart city developments.

3.93 million international tourists visited Catalonia in the first quarter of 2014, which represents a 10.4% increase compared to the same period of 2013. On top of this, 2012 and 2013 were already excellent years for international tourism in Catalonia, posting significant annual increases. In the first quarter of 2014, the growing trend seems to be continuing and 10% more foreigners visiting Spain traveled to the land that has Barcelona as its capital. With 3,929,163 foreigners, Catalonia is the Autonomous Community in Spain receiving the second highest number of tourists during these three winter months, only surpassed by the Canaries, which welcomed 4,077,759 international visitors.

On Sunday 18^th of May, the Port of Barcelona will register its highest passenger record in a single day this year with 31,600 people travelling in 1 of the 7 cruise ships docked in the city's harbour. "The city of Barcelona is, economically speaking, the great beneficiary from the arrival of cruise ships" in its harbour, stated Sixte Cambra, President of the Barcelona Port Authority.  According to the organisation’s calculations, in a single day these tourists will spend €3.5 million in the city's local economy. Five of the seven cruise ships offer a turn-around service from Barcelona, which means that passengers start or end their sea journey in the Catalan capital. The two other boats are making a layover in the city.

89 beaches and 24 marinas in Catalonia are among those sharing the highest quality standards in Europe, since they have received a blue flag. This award is given for the quality of the water, the cleanness of the environment, easy access for people with mobility problems, the security services and other indicators. Last year, 90 beaches received a blue flag while this year Catalonia received one award less. Beaches on the Costa Brava kept their 28 blue flags, those on the Costa Daurada and the Ebro Delta also kept their 38 awards, but the coast of Barcelona went from 24 to 23 quality awards. Spain has received a total of 573 blue flags for its beaches and 108 for its marinas, a record, with 23 more beaches and 11 more marinas on the list. In this way, Spain continues to top the list among 48 states and 51 territories.

The Catalan economy grew by 0.4% in the first quarter of 2014, which means that GDP has been increasing for the last 4 consecutive quarters, leaving recession far behind, according to an early estimate published on Monday by Catalonia’s Statistics Institute (Idescat) and the Catalan Ministry of the Economy and Knowledge. Furthermore, between March 2013 and March 2014, Catalonia’s economy grew by 0.8%. In the second quarter of 2013 it registered a quarterly growth of 0.1%; in the third it also posted a 0.1% quarterly growth; between October and December, it increased by 0,2%; and now, between January and March, it grew by 0.4%. The services sector has been the main engine behind this positive trend; in the last 12 months it grew by 1.4%.

The number of foreign tourists who visited Catalonia between January and March reached 2.55 million people, which represents a 9.8% increase compared to the same period last year. In addition, the number of international visitors in March this year increased by 4.9% compared to the same month of 2013, despite the Easter holidays not being in March but in April in 2014. In the whole of Spain, 10.1 million foreigners visited the country in the first quarter of 2014, a 7.2% increase on the previous year. 25.3% of those visitors went to Catalonia, which ranked second among the Autonomous Communities. The Canaries topped the ranking with 3.12 million alien visitors, 31% of Spain's total.

The Israeli airline Arkia will offer a total of 20 flights during the summer and 20 more during the winter between Tel Aviv and the Lleida-Alguaire Airport. The new connection will start on the 27^th of June and will have a capacity of 110 passengers per flight. Israeli tourists will be better connected to Western Catalonia and the Pyrenees, which host a large range of ski resorts, adventure sports opportunities, impressive mountain landscapes and unique Romanesque art. In addition, the Israeli Ambassador recently unveiled a route following the mountain paths used by thousands of Jews who crossed the Pyrenees to escape Nazi persecution. Lleida's Pyrenean landscape consists of high peaks, lakes and mountain forests, including the National Park of Aigüestortes.

International sales of Catalonia's sparkling wine Cava have amounted to 241.3 million bottles in 2013, 0.77% less than the previous year. The President of the Cava Regulatory Council, Pere Bonet presented such figures in a press conference on Tuesday. Bonet linked this decrease with the current economic context and recalled that other regions producing sparkling wine had registered sharper declines, for instance Champagne with a 2% drop. The Spanish market, accounting for one third of Cava sales, has performed better than in previous years and only fell by 0.47%. On the other hand, sales in the foreign market, which had increased every year since 1980, registered a 0.92% decrease in 2013.

Catalonia’s PortAventura and Ferrari have reached an agreement to build a new area dedicated to the illustrious sports cars, expanding the current amusement park. Thanks to an over €100 million investment, ‘Ferrari Land’ will open in 2016 with 75,000 m² at its disposal. Visitors will discover several attractions designed for fans of the Italian brand, including a vertical accelerator announced as the highest and fastest in Europe. ‘Ferrari Land’ will also host the first Ferrari themed hotel, which will offer 5-star accommodation in 250 rooms. The Italian company had already opened a dedicated theme park in Abu Dhabi named ‘Ferrari World’, which was met with much success among fans of the prancing horse. The new amusement facilities will be built next to 'BCN World', a $6 billion resort that will open next to PortAventura, with hotels, conference centres, casinos, theatres and golf courses.

For the first time ever, over 7.5 million tourists stayed in one of Barcelona’s hotels in 2013. More specifically, the Catalan capital welcomed 7.571,766 visitors in its hotel rooms last year, meaning a 1.77% increase on 2012, when Barcelona’s hotels accounted for 7.440,113 guests. 80% of visitors are foreigners, mainly from France, the UK and the US. Besides, this increase in the number of hotel guests  is not the only record achieved last year. Indeed, the number of overnight stays has also reached an unprecedented number, with almost 16.5 million overnight stays registered in 2013, a 3.4% growth on 2012 figures.   

The Catalan Executive announced it will take the Spanish Government’s Hydrologic Plan for the Ebro River (Plan Hidrológico del Ebro) to the European Commission, as it will damage the river’s delta, which is a unique environment and one of UNESCO’s Biosphere Reserves. The European Commission replied that it will need “weeks or even months” to analyse the plan, which only guarantees that around 30% of the river’s volume of flow will reach the delta. According to scientific studies, such a volume of water is absolutely insufficient to preserve the Delta, which is a reserve for wildlife as well as a tourist and agricultural centre. The project foresees allocating almost 11,000 cubic hectometres of water per year upstream to irrigate 1.41 million hectares of fields, a third of them newly-created. Brussels is still waiting for Madrid’s documentation but the Commission warned that it will look at the plan “from all the possible angles”.