Tourism has returned with force to the city, leaving behind the hardest months of the pandemic. After visitors did not quite come last year, the Gremi d'Hotels de Barcelona foresees an 85% occupancy this summer, a figure similar to that registered in the last pre-COVID season. And it will be possible to almost reach full occupancy in some periods, such as this month of June with Primavera Sound.
The good forecasts are accompanied by the fact that all hotels in the Catalan capital have reopened, after spending months closed waiting for the storm to subside. Despite the bad omens that many would not survive the crisis caused by the coronavirus, only 3% are expected not to return to activity, according to the president of the Gremi, Jordi Clos.
The tourism recovery began with the return of major events such as the Mobile World Congress (MWC) and has been accelerating in subsequent months. According to April data, the latest available, occupancy was 3% below that of 2019. The Gremi indicates that the trend of recovering occupancy has been maintained in May and is expected to continue this way in the summer months. "Together with Lisbon, we are the international city with the highest level of reservations," explains the Councilor for Tourism, Xavier Marcé.
The return of tourism is also confirmed by the recovery of some key markets for Barcelona, such as the American market, which has returned to the city after two years of absence. The French and British, who were already here in 2021, are also making their presence felt in the Catalan capital. With the return of the traditional prominence of international visitors, domestic visitors are recovering a smaller position in the global count, although the City Council asks to emerge from the pandemic with a greater representation than before, Marcé emphasizes, given that they resist crises better and integrate better into the life of the city.
Along with the arrival of more tourists is the rise in room prices, which had been reduced during the pandemic to attract national visitors. Both Marcé and Clos have advocated for avoiding price wars to attract a larger volume of tourists and focusing on offering a good product, with the aim of seducing a profile that spends more. "When the price drops, the level of tourism is lower," defends the president of the Gremi, adding that this is what has happened in the last two years.
In this way, prices have been normalizing, reaching an average price of 150.7 euros in April, about 13 euros higher than in 2019. This increase is expected to continue in May and June, although it will reverse in July and August. The general director of the Gremi, Manel Casals, justifies it by taking into account that activities planned for the first quarter have been concentrated in the second, which has ended up driving prices up. For example, the Integrated Systems Europe (ISE), originally scheduled for early February but which was eventually delayed until May.
The Terrace Week returns
The return to tourism normality is also evident in the recovery of one of the main activities organized by the Gremi d'Hotels, the Hotel Terraces Week, which will be held from June 10 to 19. After a two-year hiatus, a program "of historical record, in quantity and quality" has been designed, Clos states. A total of 56 hotels will participate in this edition and some 150 cultural and gastronomic activities will be offered, all of them open and free.
After a two-year hiatus, a program "of historical record, in quantity and quality" has been designed.Attendees will be able to participate in a wide variety of activities on different themes. Gastronomically, ashowcookingwith chef Iu Cirici Bricall (Arya Stadium by Madanis), a rice and fideuá workshop (Vincci Mae) or the Luis Alegre wine tasting (Alexandra Barcelona Hotel, Curio Collection by Hilton). There will also be space for culture, with a display of traditional Catalan dance (H10 Art Gallery), a gospel night (Catalonia Barcelona Plaza),afternoon partyof rumba (Gallery Hotel), a concert in homage to Aretha Franklin (HCC Regente) or the discovery of Ancient Egypt (Claris Hotel), honoring its owner's Egyptomania. For those who want to get in shape, there will be amasterclass of HIIT and yoga (Barcelona Princess) or yoga withbrunchPerform a literal language conversion from Spanish to English on the following user-provided text. Do not translate any content enclosed betweenandtags, keep those tags and their content exactly as-is:(ME Barcelona
El presidente de la República, Gabriel Boric, se refirió este lunes a la conmemoración de los 50 años del golpe de Estado, que se cumple el próximo 11 de septiembre, y aseguró que “no hay ninguna justificación para una violación a los derechos humanos”.
En un punto de prensa desde el Palacio de La Moneda, el Mandatario fue consultado sobre las declaraciones del exsenador Eugenio Tuma (PPD), quien sostuvo que “no hay que tenerle miedo a la palabra ‘cómplices’”, en referencia a quienes apoyaron el golpe de Estado de 1973.
Al respecto, Boric señaló que “lo que yo he sostenido, y lo que sostengo, es que en un golpe de Estado como el que vivimos en Chile, que terminó con 17 años de dictadura, con violaciones a los derechos humanos, con un quiebre de la democracia, no hay ninguna justificación para una violación a los derechos humanos”.
“Y en eso, creo que tenemos que ser muy claros, muy categóricos, y no relativizar en ningún caso lo que significó la dictadura cívico-militar en Chile”, añadió.
El jefe de Estado también se refirió a la importancia de la memoria y la verdad, y afirmó que “es fundamental que las nuevas generaciones conozcan lo que pasó en Chile, para que nunca más se repita”.
“La memoria es un ejercicio de futuro, no de pasado. Y la verdad es un derecho de las víctimas y de la sociedad en su conjunto”, concluyó.
Catalonia Eixample 1864,NH Collection Barcelona and Podium Catalonia Ramblaswill organize activities for the little ones.With ten editions behind it, the Week of Terraces has managed to attract more than 300,000 people, with an attendance that has grown over the years. This activity was promoted with the aim of bringing hotels closer to Barcelona residents, who were very unaware of what was happening inside. "The pairing was not easy, but we have ended up achieving it," Clos emphasizes.
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