MORE TOURISTS ARE COMING TO BARCELONA (AND THEY ARE ALSO SPENDING MORE)

During the first trimester of this year, the number of tourists in Barcelona increased 11.73%, most of them come from Spain, England, France and Italy. The amount of sleep-overs also increased 7.64%, mainly in hotels (there are 323, offering 61,147 places, most of them above 4-stars, and 12 of them rated great luxury). The percentage of tourists arriving by plane is 5.15%, while cruisers went down 8.55%. On the positive side, these tourists have spent an average 16.31% more in the city. The Catalan capital city continues to lead the ranking for business and congresses tourism (it will host more than 200,000 delegates). During 2009, the city welcomed 24.5 million visitors. Citizens see tourism as a beneficial industry, even though some perceive tourists as less civic than locals.

Source: Diario 20 minutos, Pág. 2, año XI, nº 2386 - 19.05.10

On March 26, the Museo Archivo de Sant Andreu de Llavaneres officially opened the exposition: El Camino de Santiago: photos by Alvar Saez (professor at CETA) of which Mr Saez is author and commissary. The inaugural act enjoyed the presence of  Mr. Jaume Font, sub-director of tourism for Generalitat de Catalunya. The exhibition, counting with 48 color images of the French, North and Primitive ways and the Way of Silver, and complemented with multimedia material and nine explicative panels of the history, heritage, art, symbols, the figure of the pilgrim and the various routes and maps of this itinerary considered Human Heritage by UNESCO since 1993, will last until April 18, when it will start an itinerary around Spain.

This activity is part of the cycle of special activities programmed for the 40th anniversary of CETA.

60.000 USERS ARE INTERESTED IN THE CAMPAIGN “BECOME A FAN OF CATALONIA”

Tourism of Catalonia carries out a direct on-line promotional campaign: the user is an active part on the creation of contents since they have the opportunity of “becoming a fan of Catalonia”, sharing their experiences, suggesting visits and uploading the images of their holidays in Catalonia. In three weeks, 60.000 users have visited the web “www.haztefandecatalunya.com”, and they have created more than 200 groups of different fans. The visitors have also filled the web with over 300 photos and home videos.

From October, tourism of Catalonia will start a second phase of the campaign, corresponding to the autumn season. In this second phase it will put emphasis in the communication of the most related products to the seasonal variation of the year, such as nature-active, gastronomy, culture and wellness. As an innovation, users who become “fans of Catalonia” can win stays in Catalonia.

Source: http://www.actnoticies.cat/Generico/actualitat/fitxa/30/317/
Date: 21.09.2009

Wine culture consolidates in Spain, the third wine producer in the world

In a country that has become the biggest vineyard in the world (1.16 million hectares), the third world producer (40.3 million hectoliters) and the second wine exporter; it was mandatory to become an attractive destination for eno-tourism. “This type of tourism is now in fashion, it is very emotional and experimental”, says Monica Figuerola, General Manager of La Rioja Tourism, a Spanish state mainly attractive due to its wines excellence.

Though this sector is still moderate, its clientele is very selective (one and a half million eno-tourists per year, a 5.300 million euros revenue in 2006 and 23.000 workers, it represents 1% of the GNI). This type of tourists travel with their family or in groups, they stay in good hotels (three to four-stars hotels), they spend above average (more than 100 euros a day) and they follow wine routes while exploring the countryside, according to various local Tourism Offices.

However, eno-tourism is not just about drinking. It also implies visiting cellars and vineyards or enjoying a wine-therapy session.

Source: Diario ADN, year 4, number 739, page 9, 22nd of June, 2009

On April 17th, 2009, CETA’s students, accompanied by their teachers, visited SITC (International Tourism Show in Catalonia), located in Fira de Barcelona.

During the day, the students were able to visit the colourful stands of the main tourist points, both local and international; along with the various companies and organizations related to the world of tourism.

Some of the represented sectors were: Official Organizations, Accommodation, Travel Agencies and Tour Operators, Transport, Cultural and Recreational Tourism, Online Tourism, Gastronomic Tourism, Nautical Tourism, Camping and Caravanning, Active and Adventure Tourism, Travel Accessories, LGTB Tourism, the “Pink Corner”, Special Offer Zone, Desert Tourism, Mad Travellers’ Routes, Cruises, Hiking and Rambling, Tourism for Senior Citizens and  Religious Tourism.

See more SITC photos here

The Barcelona Convention Bureau (BCB) has made a balance of the economic impact Business Tourism brings over the city. According to the BCB, the meetings market is one of the main tourism segments and it generated a total of 1,715.3 million euros last year.

This economic impact over the city was caused by the 2,482 meetings held in 2008 which brought a total of 695,902 delegates to the metropolitan area.

Turisme de Barcelona has informed that the Catalan capital city has recently become the international reference in MICE Tourism (Meetings, Incentives, Conferences and Exhibitions Tourism). According to the International Congress and Conventions Association (ICCA), the Catalan city is the second city in the world with the greatest amount of delegates, only after Viena.

Considering the number of meetings, the ICCA ranking places the city of Barcelona as the fifth in the world.

Source: Comunicatur, 21 April, 2009 http://comunicatur.info:80/cms/index.php?option=com_content&task=view&id=636&Itemid=1

The company Costa Cruises continues its campaign to support families and now, in addition to children under four years travelling for free, the company offers discounts of over 60% for children under 18 years, for any destination and in any of the 14 vessels they have in the fleet.
The cabin rates for children vary according to the length of the trip. We could get a 65% discount on cruises of up to five days, 63% for cruises ranging from six to eight days and a reduction of 56% for more than eight days trips.
Louis Gray, president and CEO of Costa Cruise Spain explains that "this initiative doesn't only take place in the Spanish market, but it will also be launched in several European countries such as Austria, Belgium, Switzerland, Germany, France, Italy , Great Britain, Portugal and the Netherlands.

Source: Revista Aggenttravel, nº283, año XXII , page 14. December 2008

SPANAIR RELIES AMADEUS ALL ITS SALES PROCESSES

The Spanish airline, whose stock was already available to Amadeus travel agents, now managed through direct sale of Amadeus Altéa CMS management platform customers the latest generation of Amadeus. The adoption of this solution enables Spanair to flexibly manage its entire inventory, prices, flight times and schedules of seats, and achieve a greater control over their sales channels, both direct and indirect ones.
"Our strategy is to invest in technology to substantially improve the ability to deliver the highest level of service to our customers."

Source: Revista Savia, época IV, nº64 (dec/ jan 2009) page 33