Full tourist activity in Barcelona and Catalonia preferred destination.

With the arrival of spring and good weather there is a notable increase in tourist activity in Catalonia and, especially, in Barcelona. The number of congresses and events is increasing and the participation of delegates and assistants in each of them is increasing. Business tourism is a key factor in a wide distribution of tourists throughout the season. The indicators of international tourism of 2019 continue to show a positive evolution of the destination and the number of tourists and foreign visitors continues to grow. It is worth noting that in the first four months of the year almost 4.9 million tourists have already arrived in Catalonia, representing 4.8% more than the same period last season. This trend also affects the rest of Spain, since in the same period it has received 21.4 million foreign visitors, which represents a 4.4% increase over the previous season. The expense of foreign tourists has also gone up. Global spending has increased by 5.7% over the previous year and has been the tourist from the Russian Federation one of the main drivers in which this data has continued to grow.

Apart from the traditional city tourism that visits the destination of Barcelona and all its surroundings, whether coming from business activities such as fairs and congresses, or family tourism that has also left positive data, cruise tourism is the most highlights this season. It is estimated that cruise tourists left last year, in the city of Barcelona, ​​more than 260 million euros in expenses for restaurants, hotels, services and transportation (does not include purchases). The ships that dock is getting larger. In addition, large companies such as Norwegian Cruise Line and Royal Caribbean have opted for the city and operate with several boats in winter. This season highlights mainly that boats with new propulsion systems powered by Liquefied Natural Gas (LNG) have begun to dock in the Port of Barcelona, ​​a much less polluting alternative fuel. See BLOG article from last April 30

In this sense, cruise passengers devote their time to touring the city and carry out other recreational, gastronomic or leisure activities that are greatly enhanced thanks to cruises, and that are very clearly targeted in this segment. One of these activities is wine tourism, specifically in the Penedès cavas. This initiative was developed taking into account the needs of this type of visitor. It is a visitor of medium-high and high socioeconomic status, which requires specific proposals to have complementary activities in their trips.

Shopping is another favourite activity for cruise tourists, which allows the commercial sector of Barcelona and its surroundings to be boosted. Beyond Barcelona the visitor meets other emblematic elements related to leisure or culture. More and more attractions are incorporated outside the destination Barcelona, ​​ranging from the city of Girona, Figueres (Dalí Theatre-Museum), Sitges, the Costa Brava, the mountain of Montserrat-including Monastery– that make the enclave a protected natural space.

The Mediterranean has established itself as one of the most important destinations in the cruise market. Each year the number of cruise ships that cross the Mediterranean and, therefore, the tourists that visit the cities that constitute the stopovers of the various itineraries offered by each shipping company increases.

Barcelona, ​​day by day, is positioned as the European cruise capital, either as a base port or as a stopover for the rest of the cruise ships that cross the Mediterranean.

The tourist attraction of Barcelona, ​​thanks to its history, culture, cuisine and lifestyle, turns the city into a European capital of cruises. Every day thousands of people embark and disembark in Barcelona eager to enjoy the most famous tourist and cultural enclaves not only of the city, but also of its surroundings.

This great daily movement requires a great capacity of logistics organization of the mobility of people for cruise companies and consignee agencies in the various ports of Barcelona and the Mediterranean basin.

BARCELONA has a modern hotel infrastructure and offers a commercial, recreational, cultural and tourist offer of the first order. The climate is Mediterranean, with mild winters and warm summers. More and more there is a certain seasonality of tourism and it has stopped concentrating exclusively on the summer months. Also, the tourist offers of the surroundings of Barcelona and of Catalonia to the complete one has done that there is a remarkable diversification of tourists towards all the Catalan geography that has many kilometres of beaches and are mainly attractive the Costa Brava; the Costa Dorada and the area of ​​the Ebro Delta and the Pyrenees. All this structure allows Catalonia to be a destination of the first order and be able to host all kinds of fairs or events and have an exceptional attraction for tourism of the cruise ships that dock at both the Port of Barcelona and those of Palamós or Tarragona. Most cruise companies already have their headquarters in Barcelona as the operational base of the Mediterranean.

Transport companies specializing in tourism services and events such as Avant Grup, make it possible to take a tour of both the city of Barcelona and its surroundings and enjoy an unbeatable experience.

Avant Grup provides guarantee, security and trust in the service. It has a wide and modern fleet of vehicles of different capacities that allow to respond to all the mobility demand in the trips and excursions that the organization and planning that these tourist activities generate.