Like a mirage, some of the few hotels open in Barcelona had all their rooms occupied this weekend. The cause must be sought in the Valentine's Day effect and the desire to spend a romantic night away from home. One of them is the Yurbban Passage Hotel & Spa, in the Passatge de les Manufactures, which this weekend had to say no to those who wanted to stay there and had not booked in advance.
In the current crisis context, which has severely affected tourist activity, it is unusual for hotels to be able to hang the Full sign. It is explained by a new phenomenon, that of the local tourist, who is giving some life to the sector. With municipal or regional confinements, many Barcelonians are opting to rediscover their city, visiting its most iconic establishments, with dinner included, or choosing them as places to telework.
Despite these small joys, the city's tourism sector remains in a state of paralysis, with only 100 hotels open out of a total of 450 and all of them with losses, red numbers that are not overcome by the brief episodes of hope that dates like Valentine's Day can bring. According to the president of Turisme de Barcelona, Eduard Torres, the situation is "desperate" but the different agents are taking advantage of the stoppage to prepare intensely for when the recovery arrives and to do so by overcoming the criticisms that this activity had until now aroused among citizens: "The situation is bad but we need to focus on the future and come out strong."
Turisme de Barcelona is committed to the sector embracing two key concepts in the post-coronavirus horizon: digitalization and sustainability. Clearly aligned with the objective pursued by European funds, the consortium led by Torres has precisely presented a city project that aspires to opt for these resources, through the Barcelona City Council and the Generalitat. It works with the idea of promoting a data hub that allows improving the visitor's experience by better adapting to their tastes and interests and, in turn, attracting a tourist who integrates more into the daily life of the city and does not impact its daily life as much.
[subscribe_newsletter_esp]Still ill-defined, this future hub, which will be integrated into Turisme de Barcelona, must serve to manage all the data generated by tourists. This line of work is part of the transformation that has occurred in the way people travel: routes and stays are decided on the Internet, both before arriving at the destination, by consulting and booking accommodation online, and during, by reading on Booking, TripAdvisor or Google which are the best restaurants or museums. And also afterwards, by leaving comments on these platforms about how the trip went.
That is why Turisme de Barcelona wants to delve into the world of data and work with it to guide visitors through the city according to their preferences. "From tourism promotion, we have to start working with data, which until now had not been done. We need to be more digital and sustainable because that is what customers will ask of us," explains Torres.
"We want to explain ourselves in a different way to the world to attract the people we want to come. Without giving up the Mediterranean style, we want people to know that interesting things happen in Barcelona," says TorresIn the new tourism narrative that is to be promoted for the Catalan capital, based on attributes that are perhaps not too associated with the city such as its culture, gastronomy, science or entrepreneurship, the consortium wants to personalize tourists' trips by offering them activities related to these values, with the will for them to live the city and not just visit it, and the aim of making them more loyal. "We want to explain ourselves in a different way to the world to attract the people we want to come. Without giving up the Mediterranean style, we want people to know that interesting things happen in Barcelona," illustrates Torres. Turisme de Barcelona will highlight the scientific ecosystem that conducts research in the city; the artistic expressions that proliferate in Poblenou and the cultural district of L'Hospitalet; theboomentrepreneurial spirit that is experienced in spaces like Pier 01 of Barcelona Tech City, and the major international events hosted in Barcelona, such as the Mobile World Congress (MWC) or Integrated Systems Europe (ISE).
To foster sustainability, beyond tourists more integrated into Barcelona life, it will also be important in the post-coronavirus scenario to reduce the environmental impact caused by tourism. On this issue, Torres proposes the creation of a blue tourism seal, which recognizes establishments that reduce their ecological footprint.
More promotion for the Catalan capital
All of this must be complemented with stronger promotion to encourage the arrival of tourists to the Catalan capital. "The most important help to prevent businesses from closing is for customers to return. How can we do this? With good promotion," explains Torres. "In Barcelona, promotion was not so important because the city was doing frankly well and thriving on its own. Now, a pact must be made among all affected sectors to promote, and it is very important to include the Generalitat," he remarks.
Torres points out that Catalonia allocates about 50 million euros annually to tourism promotion, and of these, only five million go to Barcelona. "We need the Generalitat to get involved with Barcelona because, if Barcelona thrives, the rest of the territory will thrive. We need it to take care of the city," he defends. Specifically, the president of Turisme de Barcelona believes that the allocation for the Catalan capital must increase to 15 million euros per year. This is the first request that the consortium will make to the future Government of the Generalitat.
The commitment to digitalization and obtaining more resources for promotion must be accompanied by a joint vaccination strategy at a European level, which will ultimately determine the recovery of activity. Turisme de Barcelona insists on the need for a vaccination health passport for citizens of member states and does not consider the obligation for tourists to undergo PCR tests before arriving at their destination as essential, considering that they can be more expensive than plane tickets and that 80% of visitors to Barcelona arrive via El Prat.