Turisme de Barcelona is testing new formulas to reactivate the sector, severely affected by the paralysis caused by an unprecedented crisis. In this vein, the consortium has just announced its alliance with Seville to join forces and offer "a trip with two destinations." "It is the first time that two well-positioned cities decide to take joint action," remarks the general director of Turisme de Barcelona, Marian Muro, without ruling out future alliances with other cities.
The main recipient of this shared campaign will be the French market, considering that they occupy the top positions of tourists visiting Barcelona and Seville. This approach has also been motivated by the pandemic, which will force another summer to opt for proximity tourism. Renfe, Renfe-SNCF, Vueling, PortAventura World, La Roca Village, the Seville Aquarium, and the Palacio de Las Dueñas are some of the collaborators in the action.
The Barcelona and Seville consortiums have woven a common narrative that invites French people to visit the two cities, well connected by train and plane. Muro points out that architecture, gastronomy, fashion, and literature will be some of the shared values between the two destinations that will be highlighted in this campaign, allowing each one to imbue them with their particularities.
The commitment of architects Aníbal González and Antoni Gaudí to ceramic tiles as a decorative element will be highlighted; the textile industry of Catalonia and the Sevillian dresses, and the urban markets of La Boqueria and Triana. The figure of the Andalusian poet Antonio Machado will also be a protagonist, with special attention to his stop on the way to exile and death in Barcelona, recently declared a Machadian city.
The objective of all this will be to jointly attract a visitor profile with high purchasing power, interested in culture, respectful of heritage, and concerned about sustainability, details Antonio Jiménez, from Turismo de Sevilla. Likewise, it is expected to provide an optimal response to those visitors who are on a route through Spain or Europe and only spend 2.7 days in Barcelona, indicates the Councilor for Tourism and Creative Industries, Xavier Marcé, offering them complementary destinations that focus on gastronomy, architecture, or literature.
A campaign with continuity
The tourist relationship between Barcelona and Seville will not just be a summer love and the consortiums of both cities plan to continue it beyond this season. "It is born with a permanent character," assures Jiménez. Thus, as more markets open, the United States and the Middle East will be the next targets, which will also benefit from the promotion made in Paris, a gateway to Europe for many visitors.