Barcelona promotes routes around Catalunya to ease urban tourism

Barcelona wants tourists to explore beyond the city. Only 8% leave the municipality. The Ayuntamiento wants to better connect the capital with the rest of Catalunya. Tourism representatives from several regions are already exploring new collaborations.

The Ayuntamiento de Barcelona has taken a step forward to diversify tourism and reduce overcrowding in the city. This Thursday, José Antonio Donaire, commissioner for Gestión del Turismo Sostenible, met with tourism officials from Costa Brava, Lleida, Tarragona and Barcelona.

The main aim of the meeting was to analyse how to encourage visitors to Barcelona to discover other Catalan destinations. According to municipal data, only 8% of tourists staying overnight in the capital take an excursion outside the municipality.

During the meeting, participants agreed that there is room for improvement in connecting Barcelona's tourism offering with that of the rest of Catalunya. Expanding the catalogue of proposals would make it possible to link the city with the territory's identity-defining elements and ease pressure on the busiest areas.

Those attending included Norbert Bes, director of the Patronato de Turismo de la Costa Brava; Juli Alegre, head of Turismo at the Diputación de Lleida; Octavi Bono, representative of the Patronato de la Diputación de Tarragona; and Soledad Bravo, manager of Servicios de Turismo at the Diputación de Barcelona.

The parties agreed to explore new avenues for collaboration, such as promoting excursions and visits from Barcelona that complement the current offering. The challenge: getting more tourists to venture out and discover the diversity of Catalunya.