1. The challenges and solutions related to tourism in Barcelona
JORDI WILLIAM CARNES, CEO OF BARCELONA TURISME
Balancing visitors and inhabitants
Reykjavik, 8th April 2015

2. THE CHALLENGES AND SOLUTIONS RELATED TO TOURISM IN BARCELONA
Table of contents
THE CHALLENGES AND SOLUTIONS RELATED TO TOURISM IN BARCELONA
Background
Challenges
Solutions
Considerations
Key issues

3. Background Barcelona in the world Tourists from 1993 to 2014
International tourists
Summer First crisis of the tourism model and its public perception

4. Background
Barcelona in the world

5. Background Tourists from 1993 to 2014 + 220,7% 108 milion tourists
( )
+ 220,7%
Source: Turisme de Barcelona (from 2010 with Gremi d’Hotels de Barcelona).

6. Background International tourists from 1993 to 2014 + 208,4%
Source: Turisme de Barcelona (from 2010 with Gremi d’Hotels de Barcelona).

7. Background
Summer First crisis of the tourism model and its public perception
Incidents with naked young people in La Barceloneta
Touristic apartments
Traffic-clogged streets because of Tourist Buses in Sagrada Família

8. Challenges A new vision of urban tourism
Concentration of tourism in certain areas
Regulation of new types of accommodation

9. Challenges A new vision of urban tourism
Tourism as an engine for growth
Tourism as generator of employment
Contribution to citizen welfare
Give voice to different sectors concerned

10. Challenges Concentration of tourism in certain areas
Management of public space
Regulation of tourist flows in real time
Mobility
Coexistence between tourists and locals

11. Challenges Regulation of new types of accommodation
Security and customer protection (complaints book, customer care, etc.)
Safety in the city (registration of people staying with ID data, passports, etc.)
Taxation (contributing to the maintenance of public services and avoiding unfair competition)
Transparency (must be included and registered)

12. Solutions City Council Positive experiences Debate Barcelona Turisme
City Council and Barcelona Turisme

13. Solutions City Council
Decentralization of tourism (new plan of districts: to deliver economic activity to other areas of the city and relieve the pressure on the center)
Monitoring of new forms of tourist accommodation and collaborative economy (new municipal powers and a new penalty system)
Tourism and the city: encouraging a new local agreement to manage and promote responsible and sustainable tourism

14. Solutions Positive experiences
Park Güell (masterpiece of Gaudí and UNESCO World Heritage)
Entrance fees (7€) have reduced overcrowding and improved the management of visitor flows
Improving the experience of tourists
More economic resources that improve tourist services
Sagrada Família
Regulation and management of buses that lead visitors to the temple
Is it enough?

15. Solutions
Debate
Is it the time to charge a fee to regulate the traffic of buses that lead tourists staying at coastal towns to the city center?

16. Solutions Barcelona Turisme
Focus the promotional action in new areas of the city (Horta, Montjuïc, etc.)
Barcelona Tourist Bus: tourists distributed throughout the city
New guided tours in little known neighborhoods of touristic interest
Smart City: use technology (Big Data) to regulate tourist flows

17. Solutions City Council and Barcelona Turisme
Promotion of the touristic wealth of the whole province of Barcelona (Montserrat, Sitges, Vic, Catalan Pyrenees, etc.)
Actions to avoid touristic saturation points during the summer
Reinvest the revenue obtained from the touristic fee
Move towards a real decentralization of tourism
Show the economic and social benefits of tourism for the locals

18. Considerations

19. Considerations Tourism is an engine of wealth for cities
Barcelona needs tools to regulate tourism impact and avoid coexistence problems
Sectors concerned (taxis, restaurants, service companies) should participate in the public debate
Transformation of residential homes into touristic apartments contemplates a modification of the city’s use plan. How should the city react?
Font: INSETUR (Universitat de Girona) per a l’Ajuntament de Barcelona (2012) i AQR (Universitat de Barcelona) per al Pla Estratègic de Turisme de la Ciutat de Barcelona (2007).

20. Key issues

21. Key issues Tourism has transformed our vision of the world
Cities are the largest laboratory of human relations
Our responsibility is to find the right balance between tourist satisfaction and the pride in belonging of the inhabitants of our cities

22. Thank you! www.barcelonaturisme.com @barcelonaturism