The tourism sector in Barcelona Contents page page 04 06 Barcelona, a 10 reasons Mediterranean to invest centre for in Barcelona innovation page 08 The tourism sector in Barcelona Edited by Barcelona City Council Department of Economy, Business and Employment Llacuna 162 08018 Barcelona www.bcn.cat/barcelonagrowth In cooperation with Turisme de Barcelona Design and DTP: g.grafic El sector turístic a Barcelona Barcelona, October 2014 2 page page 12 30 8 reasons to invest in the Links tourism sector in Barcelona of interest 13 01. Easy to get to and connected to other countries 16 02. Range of tourist accommodation: lots of high quality places to stay 18 03. City for trade fairs and congresses 20 04. Competitive human capital 21 05. Tourism: opportunities in different sectors of the business 24 06. Promoting economic activity 26 07. Responsible and sustainable tourism 28 08. Barcelona, at the heart of an area of great touristic interest El sector turístic a Barcelona 3 Barcelona, a Mediterranean centre for Barcelona is the economic, cultural innovation and administrative capital of Catalonia, which leads an emerging area of eco- nomic activity in the south of Europe with 17 million inhabitants and more than 800,000 businesses. This Euro- Mediterranean region, which includes Barcelona, situated in the north east of the Balearic Islands, Valencia, Aragon Spain on the Mediterranean coastline, is one and the south east of France, is espe- cially focused on new strategic sectors of Europe’s largest metropolises and the that are competitive and internation- centre of an extensive metropolitan region ally orientated. It has consolidated its position abroad as one of the main of more than 160 municipalities, with over metropolises in Europe. 4.8 million inhabitants. With a longstanding industrial tradition and a well-established business sector, Barcelona offers a very diversified economic structure. The more traditional sectors live side by side with new emerging sectors, creating new clusters of knowledge that prioritise specialisation and competitiveness. They are focused on internationalisa- tion and contribute to the dynamic and innovative economy of the city, driving Barcelona’s strategic leadership in these fields. Catalonia is home to more than 5,000 international firms and received 106 projects in 2013, representing 30% of Spain’s total. El sector turístic a Barcelona 4 Location Euro-Mediterranean region Catalonia Barcelona the world in terms of number of visitors and spending by international tourism, and the 5th most visited city in Europe and 20th in the world. More thanMore 5,000 When we look at the distribution of gross Furthermore, in Catalonia, training in the value added according to branches of tourism area stands out because of its international economic activity, in the case of industry, quality and level of specialisation, guaran- companies Catalonia’s weighting is higher than any teeing the availability of qualified human In 2013 other autonomous region in Spain (23.6%) capital. and with respect to services, it is second in terms of national gross value added Collaboration between Public Administra- generated. tions and profesional sectors has helped make Barcelona an attractive and com- rd The international economic activity of the petitive tourist destination. Encourage- area of Barcelona is especially driven by ment and support for business initiatives 3 the city’s Trade Fair, Port, Airport, the Zona to improve the development of the city’s European Franca and Turisme de Barcelona Consor- tourism activity are good examples. tiums, Barcelona City Council and its new city in terms technology innovation districts. of number of Barcelona is well known for its quality of visitors and life. Creativity, cosmopolitanism and inno- international vation are values associated with the city visitor spend that make it very attractive to live in, work in or simply visit. It has a wide range of great restaurants, cultural and leisure activities, as well as a wide variety of hotels and an ideal climate. All of the above have made it th into a competitive touristic city comparable to long-established destinations like Paris, 20 Rome and London. In fact, the city is well most visited positioned in international tourism, business and leisure rankings. For example, Barce- city in rd th lona is the 3 top city in Europe and 10 in the world The tourism sector in Barcelona 5 03. Motor for a large, diversified economic area Barcelona heads a large eco- nomic area, with a longstanding 10 industrial tradition and a well- established business sector. The reasons to city is committed to business and knowledge-intensive activities, es- pecially advanced services. invest in Barcelona has a diversified eco- nomic structure and an interesting variety of companies and suppli- ers as well as potential customers Barcelona or partners. Barcelona has a wide variety of aspects that make it a really attractive place for living, working or doing business. Today, the city 04. is a very interesting place for new economic Successful activities. Some good reasons for investing: foreign investment Catalonia has more than 5,000 foreign companies, 90% of which are located in Barcelona. 01. 02. Of all the foreign companies lo- cated in Spain, Catalonia is home Privileged Easy to get to more than 50% of the total number of Japanese, Italian, North location to and well American, French, Austrian and Swiss companies, as well as those from other countries. According to Its location on the coast of the connected the 2014 European Attractiveness Mediterranean Sea, in the north Survey carried out by consultants east of Spain, just two hours Barcelona is the only city in South- Ernst & Young, Catalonia is one of by road from France and well ern Europe boasting one of the the most interesting regions for connected to the main countries largest ports of the Mediterranean, investment and 85 projects were in Europe, makes it one of the pre- a high speed train station, an implemented in Barcelona, 38% of ferred destinations for international international airport, motorways the total in Spain. investments in Southern Europe. connecting to the European network, the second largest trade fair of Europe and one of the largest logistics areas in the region, all El sector turístic a Barcelona along 5 kilometres of coastline. 6 07. Ambitious city projects The city is committed to constant improvement and projects with great opportunities for the future. 05. That’s why Barcelona, even during hard times, is always engaged in Sectors that huge urban transformation, with significant public investment and are strategic great opportunities for private drivers initiatives. 09. In Barcelona there has been an intense development of economic Excellent sectors linked to new technologi- es and sustainability which offer quality of life interesting business and invest- ment opportunities in the ICT- 08. Barcelona is one of the top 5 cities Mobile sector, electric mobility and in terms of quality of life, according smart cities sectors. to UN-Habitat (State of World’s ‘business Cities 2012-2013). In the city there are also plenty of friendly’ entre- competitive advantages and busi- The cosmopolitan, diverse and ness opportunities in logistics and preneurial city welcoming spirit of Barcelona is distribution, tourism, trade and the shown by the fact that 17% of its agro-food industry, for example. residents are foreign nationals. Barcelona has a longstanding business and commercial traditi- on and its citizens are enter- prising, and they are open to doing business with people from other markets. The city of Barcelona generates 06. and attracts entrepreneurs and is 10. consolidating itself as a European Focal point centre for the creation of busi- A city brand nesses. According to the Global for attracting Entrepreneurship Monitor, the that adds entrepreneurial activity rate in talent Catalonia is 6.6%, a figure that is value higher than the Spanish average Barcelona has well-trained human and that of other countries such International studies and compari- capital. 48% of the active population as France, Germany, Italy and sons by independent consultants of the city work in knowedge inten- Finland. ,focused on economic, social or sive service activities. cultural topics, have placed Barce- Barcelona has specialists in a lona at the top of many rankings, wide variety of fields. There are earning it international recognition 8 prestigious public and private and prestige. universities offering excellent graduate and post-graduate pro- grammes in a wide range of areas. Furthermore, Barcelona is home to two business schools that are among the world’s top 25. El sector turístic a Barcelona 7 The tourism sector in Barcelona Over the last few years, tourism has made Barcelona into a top international destination. Today, Barcelona is a successful tourist city, enjoying wide recognition and excellent international evaluations. It is attractive for a wide variety of stakeholders. El sector turístic a Barcelona 8 Visitors that come to Barcelona have a wide variety of profiles, origins and motivati- 27 ons. Education, business, health, sport and million research are just some of the reasons for visits to the capital of Catalonia. Barcelona is visitors a creative, vibrant, open and inspiring city. In 2012 Barcelona is very well placed in the inter- national rankings. According to the Master- Card 2013 Global Destination Cities Index, it is ranked 3rd top European city, just behind th London and Paris, and 10 in the world in thanMore 16 terms of international visitors. The 2011 Euromonitor International report ranked million Barcelona 5th most visited city in Europe overnight and 20th in the world. stays Similarly, Barcelona is the 5th most interesting have a longstanding tourism tradition such as In 2013 (16,485,074) city in the world for tourists, according to Paris, Rome and London. Trip Advisor. The evaluation of visitors is extre- mely positive in the majority of aspects of the It is estimated that in 2012, Barcelona received city.