Showing posts with label tourism. Show all posts
Showing posts with label tourism. Show all posts
Wednesday, July 27, 2016
Friday, March 21, 2014
Videos from Barcelona
Just added a new link to the list; a stunning presenter and some of Barcelona's nicest places to visit.
Friday, September 2, 2011
Americans dominate in Barcelona... as tourists
The original story by Antònia Justícia from today's La Vanguardia newspaper is here.
The following is a google-translator aided, shortened, unauthorized version:
The United States is again the major emitter of (foreign) tourists to Barcelona. Direct air links and cruises from BCN help | Tourist season from March to November | More than half of Americans come to Barcelona for a cruise | Six airlines with a total of 42 flights a week connect BCN to major American cities | In July foreigners spent almost 220 million euros in BCN, 19.3% more | More than three million overnight stays of 1.5 M tourists
Antònia Justícia
After 9/11 Americans lost their status as numerally most important group of visitors to the city. Now, ten years later, the U.S. has returned to the top spot in the ranking of "emitter" countries, significantly ahead of France, Italy and Britain. With 340,497 American visitors until the end of July, nearly 30,000 more than France, the second biggest emitter so far this year, the United States is poised to set a new record. All in a positive context: July and August closed with 16.5% more tourists -in fact, Barcelona is the European city that has grown most in volume of tourists this August, according to analysis by the local tourism authority-; spending on international credit cards are growing around 18% and overnight stays in the city have increased by 11%.
The main reasons for the boom are the status of Barcelona as the Mediterranean's most important cruise port and a significant growth in nonstop flights connecting El Prat airport with various U.S. cities. About 60.5% of all U.S. tourists that visited Barcelona during the first half of the year came to go on a cruise of the Mediterranean. If expectations are met, the port will close 2011 with 2.5 million cruise passengers, 17% of those, 425,000 would be Americans. This figure could end up much higher if the upward trend continues, as there are now five carriers operating from the port of Barcelona exclusively with U.S. clients: Holland America, Princess, Crystal, Disney (with the Disney Magic) and Carnival (with the Carnival Magic).
There are also cruise lines with multinational guests, such as Royal Caribbean, Norwergian, Celebrity and Silversea. Royal Caribbean this year expects to carry 100,000 U.S. passengers from Barcelona. These have the choice between six airlines and 42 weekly flights connecting Barcelona almost daily with cities like New York, Atlanta, Philadelphia, Chicago or Miami. An offer that began to develop in 2006 and has had a multiplier effect with each new flight.
"We know they are attracted by the "brand" Barcelona because it combines food, art, sports, culture and entertainment with cutting-edge infrastructures," said Marc Pedrol, director of marketing and communications for Royal Caribbean. The arrival of Disney Magic last season in Barcelona has also contributed to the increase, bringing a new profile American tourist: the family. "Traditionally the American tourist has been rather senior, but recently the average age has fallen somewhat. ... There are still few families but Disney will support this market, " analyze Ana Pujols and Montse Miquel, responsible for reservations and Public Relations Officer, respectively, at Le Meridien hotel, traditionally catering to well-heeled Americans. [Blogger's comment: It is a fine hotel with a good location on the Ramblas but if you are willing to spend that much money on a hotel you might also want to have a look at Hotel W (like Meridien a member of Starwood) or Hotel Arts that are on the beach...]
Promotional campaigns have also been successful, claims Turisme de Barcelona. Earlier this year, in a CNN report on unforgettable places, three experts put Barcelona as the fourth preferred travel destination in the world to discover in 2011. "People are in love with Barcelona, and this is a fact that has taken years of work," claimed yesterday Gaspart, who added: "And the fame of FC Barcelona also has helped us a lot."
The municipal tourism agency is not only satisfied with the U.S. market recovery. Also the fact that Barcelona closed the most outstanding summer in its history. The months of July and August saw an increase of 16.5% of tourists). These figures have placed Barcelona as the European city with the highest tourism growth this past August. The outlook for September and October, according Gaspart are also excellent, though Gaspart would like to increase profitability ("milk" the tourists more...).
Results which, despite the crisis, denoting good health of tourism in Barcelona. A city that, according to the evolution of people registered every month, has established itself as a tourist destination throughout the year. Here the time between March and November can be considered high season.
(Blogger's comment: you should also come for Christmas shopping in December; and on January 7 start the winter sales - still more clothes shopping...)
The following is a google-translator aided, shortened, unauthorized version:
The United States is again the major emitter of (foreign) tourists to Barcelona. Direct air links and cruises from BCN help | Tourist season from March to November | More than half of Americans come to Barcelona for a cruise | Six airlines with a total of 42 flights a week connect BCN to major American cities | In July foreigners spent almost 220 million euros in BCN, 19.3% more | More than three million overnight stays of 1.5 M tourists
Antònia Justícia
After 9/11 Americans lost their status as numerally most important group of visitors to the city. Now, ten years later, the U.S. has returned to the top spot in the ranking of "emitter" countries, significantly ahead of France, Italy and Britain. With 340,497 American visitors until the end of July, nearly 30,000 more than France, the second biggest emitter so far this year, the United States is poised to set a new record. All in a positive context: July and August closed with 16.5% more tourists -in fact, Barcelona is the European city that has grown most in volume of tourists this August, according to analysis by the local tourism authority-; spending on international credit cards are growing around 18% and overnight stays in the city have increased by 11%.
The main reasons for the boom are the status of Barcelona as the Mediterranean's most important cruise port and a significant growth in nonstop flights connecting El Prat airport with various U.S. cities. About 60.5% of all U.S. tourists that visited Barcelona during the first half of the year came to go on a cruise of the Mediterranean. If expectations are met, the port will close 2011 with 2.5 million cruise passengers, 17% of those, 425,000 would be Americans. This figure could end up much higher if the upward trend continues, as there are now five carriers operating from the port of Barcelona exclusively with U.S. clients: Holland America, Princess, Crystal, Disney (with the Disney Magic) and Carnival (with the Carnival Magic).
There are also cruise lines with multinational guests, such as Royal Caribbean, Norwergian, Celebrity and Silversea. Royal Caribbean this year expects to carry 100,000 U.S. passengers from Barcelona. These have the choice between six airlines and 42 weekly flights connecting Barcelona almost daily with cities like New York, Atlanta, Philadelphia, Chicago or Miami. An offer that began to develop in 2006 and has had a multiplier effect with each new flight.
"We know they are attracted by the "brand" Barcelona because it combines food, art, sports, culture and entertainment with cutting-edge infrastructures," said Marc Pedrol, director of marketing and communications for Royal Caribbean. The arrival of Disney Magic last season in Barcelona has also contributed to the increase, bringing a new profile American tourist: the family. "Traditionally the American tourist has been rather senior, but recently the average age has fallen somewhat. ... There are still few families but Disney will support this market, " analyze Ana Pujols and Montse Miquel, responsible for reservations and Public Relations Officer, respectively, at Le Meridien hotel, traditionally catering to well-heeled Americans. [Blogger's comment: It is a fine hotel with a good location on the Ramblas but if you are willing to spend that much money on a hotel you might also want to have a look at Hotel W (like Meridien a member of Starwood) or Hotel Arts that are on the beach...]
Promotional campaigns have also been successful, claims Turisme de Barcelona. Earlier this year, in a CNN report on unforgettable places, three experts put Barcelona as the fourth preferred travel destination in the world to discover in 2011. "People are in love with Barcelona, and this is a fact that has taken years of work," claimed yesterday Gaspart, who added: "And the fame of FC Barcelona also has helped us a lot."
The municipal tourism agency is not only satisfied with the U.S. market recovery. Also the fact that Barcelona closed the most outstanding summer in its history. The months of July and August saw an increase of 16.5% of tourists). These figures have placed Barcelona as the European city with the highest tourism growth this past August. The outlook for September and October, according Gaspart are also excellent, though Gaspart would like to increase profitability ("milk" the tourists more...).
Results which, despite the crisis, denoting good health of tourism in Barcelona. A city that, according to the evolution of people registered every month, has established itself as a tourist destination throughout the year. Here the time between March and November can be considered high season.
(Blogger's comment: you should also come for Christmas shopping in December; and on January 7 start the winter sales - still more clothes shopping...)
Sunday, July 24, 2011
The Russians are coming
It's a recurrent theme this year when looking through smaller or bigger newspaper: the Russian tourists. They are coming in ever bigger numbers to Catalonia and Spain; Barcelona is their second favorite city in the world after New York - and they spend more money than the average tourist from other places. And one notices the menues and real estate advertising in Cyrillic letters, be it in Cambrils or La Pineda on the Catalan "Gold Coast" [Costa Daurada], or in Figueres in the north, close to the Costa Brava. According to La Vanguardia newspaper the Russians spend 250 - 280 EUR per person per day - and they stay longer than other tourists. They like luxury goods so that the brand stores on Passeig de Gràcia in Barcelona already make sure to have Russian speaking staff. They are sure to visit all of Barcelona's attractions but also Port Aventura near Tarragona, the vineyards of the Penedès region - and maybe Paris (France) for a day too... Unfortunately, not all of them are well behaved, Chekov citing cosmopolitans - but neither are all of the tourists from Northern Europe or Britain; and in times of economic crisis such as the present one, that leaves about 20% of the local population out of work, hotel-, restaurant-, and shop-owners are prepared to tolerate quite a lot to accomodate well paying customers...
Saturday, February 26, 2011
Potential tourists beware...
Until a few days ago it looked as if this spring and summer would be great tourism seasons for Spain as a lot of northern Europeans changed their plans of going to Egypt or Tunisia for Easter or summer holidays and decided to book vacations in the Canary Islands or the Mediterranean coast of Spain. Now it could become a nightmare for those tourists if public sector unions realize their threat of going on strike during holidays. These unions want to prevent the central government from privatizing AENA, the body that controls Spanish airports, which would mean an end to public sector privileges for its 12,500 employees and more competition between airports; it would also help the government in its efforts to balance the budget.
In early December of 2010, air traffic controllers went on a strike that left hundreds of thousands stranded on a holiday weekend and that led the government to declare a state of alarm in order to force them back to work and prevent them from striking during the Christmas holidays. Now similar chaos is to be feared if ground personnel at Spanish airports during the holiday season decides not to carry baggage, not to clean restrooms, or not to empty the trash cans. This would be a real pain in the neck for the Spanish economy as tourism is one of the few areas that works reasonably well - especially due to the benign climate, not necessarily to its quality - and that gives - often temporary - employment to a lot of people.
In early December of 2010, air traffic controllers went on a strike that left hundreds of thousands stranded on a holiday weekend and that led the government to declare a state of alarm in order to force them back to work and prevent them from striking during the Christmas holidays. Now similar chaos is to be feared if ground personnel at Spanish airports during the holiday season decides not to carry baggage, not to clean restrooms, or not to empty the trash cans. This would be a real pain in the neck for the Spanish economy as tourism is one of the few areas that works reasonably well - especially due to the benign climate, not necessarily to its quality - and that gives - often temporary - employment to a lot of people.
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