Barcelona city has the reputation of being the most cosmopolitan, modern and avant-garde city in Spain. It is the capital and largest city in Catalonia, the second-most populated municipality in Spain and the core of the seventh-most populous urban area in the European Union. The e-governance and digitalisation of administration in Spain and Barcelona in particular has been at the core of being successfully creating the brand for international tourism
Shoaib Shaikh | NT NETWORK
Former Union Tourism Minister and a Parliamentarian for five decades, Karan Singh during his recent visit to the state said, “Goa has achieved what Spain has done. You have more tourists’ arrival every year than the population.”
The experienced Singh indeed would not have made an understatement about Goa. However, Spain with its history restored in time to pass on the knowledge of the past to the future generations of the country and world, has created its tourism brand, Barcelona.
Every football acquaintance at some point would have come across FC Barcelona, one of the foremost Spanish football clubs in the world. Barcelona which is situated between the sea and the mountains has a foot in the traditions and the other in the avant-garde. Since its renovation for the 1992 Olympic Games, the Barcelona city has the reputation of being the most cosmopolitan, modern and avant-garde city in Spain. In 2004, the Forum of Cultures of Barcelona reclaimed industrial zones to convert them into residential districts.
Barcelona is one of the four provinces of Catalonia region, the other three being Girona, Lleida, and Tarragona. Barcelona is the capital and largest city in Catalonia, the second-most populated municipality in Spain and the core of the seventh-most populous urban area in the European Union.
However, Catalonia has encashed on its capital’s international appeal and has created a brand of Barcelona tourism which extends all the amenities and facilities, entertainment and leisure, nature and archaeology, from across the autonomous community in the northeast of the Iberian Peninsula.
The e-governance and digitalisation of administration in Spain and Barcelona in particular has been at the core of being successfully creating the brand for international tourism. The Agencia Catalana de Turisme (Catalonia Tourism Board) states that the strong e-governance system which enables not just the board but the local traders and businesses, to ensure quicker and easier business through the single window clearance system. All the hotels accommodations restaurants entertainment and everything that is to-be-let is registered with the board and every business entity get equal exposure.
The applications for registration and the related permission are all auto generated online, leaving little scope for any hidden transaction. The e-governance system has enabled ease of business with the minimum interference of bureaucracy and harassment of red-tapism. The Barcelona tourism board’s single website has about 241 products for promotion and sales.
The strength of Barcelona’s tourism success lies in the mutual trust built over the years between the private entrepreneurs and the government authorities. The government has ensured participation of the private sector from the planning stage. The private sector is on the tourism board and it contributes directly towards planning and promotion in the government’s efforts as a single entity.
What Barcelona offers?
Can you picture yourself enjoying the sunshine on the shores of the Mediterranean on a peaceful winter’s day and skiing at an altitude of more than 2,000 metres the next? These are both possible in Barcelona. The Catalan Pyrenees are a true mountain paradise for trekkers and climbers and a short distance away from Barcelona.
The city by the sea has almost 5 kilometres of wide beaches with fine, golden sand and shallow waters. The beaches are accessible to all including the differently-abled and people with reduced mobility. They have become one of the biggest recreational hotspots for locals and visitors alike and have excellent amenities and services.
Natalia Bel of the promotion department of the tourism board states, “Barcelona offers fun for everyone: kids and adults, thrill seekers, and people in search of peace and quiet. You can walk among sharks, stroke dolphins, take a head-spinning ride on a roller coaster or enjoy the magnificent views of Barcelona and peaceful atmosphere of the parks.”
She further informed that apart from the Barcelona city, one can also enjoy the beaches in the other towns along the Barcelona coast. Stretching for more than 95 km, there are about 100 beaches of all kinds: fine and coarse golden sands, tiny coves, beaches in towns and in the countryside, family beaches, naturist beaches, and all of them just a short drive or train ride away from Barcelona.
“The beaches are the perfect partner to Barcelona’s range of cultural attractions and you can enjoy them any time of the year: for a stroll, to linger at a pavement café or restaurant terrace, enjoy the views and climate, swim, sunbathe, cycle or do some sports along the beach promenade”, she added.
If you enjoy sailing, water sports or just like to relax by the sea, Barcelona offers you all kinds of services and facilities so that you can enjoy your favourite activity while you are at coastline.
The Mediterranean’s tradition of sailors and navigators, lends Barcelona’s coast the added advantage of great cruise liners to small pleasure craft, boats of all sizes. A network of ports and marinas with top-class mooring services runs from north to south of the coast.
Snow lovers and mountaineers can have their share of joy at the high-mountain landscapes in winter. If one doesn’t have the skiing skills, he/she need not worry. You can go on snowshoe trails or dog sledding or take a ride on a snowmobile or snow Segway.
Just two hours’ drive away from Barcelona you’ll find hundreds of kilometres of ski slopes with state-of-the-art ski lifts, snow cannons, skiing schools and lighting for skiing after sunset.
Catalonia’s hinterlands provide another unique tourist adventure and experience in the form of mushroom gathering. One can go on a paid mushroom hunting trek, tasting them and preserving them, an activity which is one of the oldest and most-widespread traditions in Catalonia. The only requirement for tourists though is the love for walking and exploring nature.
The region’s vineyards are the very essence of its nature, traditions and historic legacy. Just a short distance from Barcelona, you can immerse yourself in the counties of Alt Penedès, Anoia, Baix Llobregat, Baix Penedès and Garraf, which make up the vineyard region, which is famed around the world for its wines and cavas (Spanish sparkling wine).
Barcelona offers a wide range of accommodation, including hotels with views, a tent in a campsite in the countryside or a city-centre apartment, so that everyone can find their perfect place to lay back and all this is available online for booking.
Turisme de Barcelona is at your disposal wherever you are, with a number of tourist offices, located at strategic points around the city. If you think you are lost, reach-out to the nearest information centre where you will find tourist and cultural information about Barcelona in a number of languages.
Transport
Public transport such as the metro, tram and Ferrocarrils de la Generalitat (FGC) are the quickest, simplest and most convenient way of getting around Barcelona. The city currently has eight metro lines and also has an urban and metropolitan rail network the FGC, run by the Catalan government.
Barcelona has a transport fleet of more than 1000 buses which operate on over 80 routes and connect all the city’s districts and the metropolitan area. The buses have low floors and are adapted for people with reduced mobility. Barcelona has a night-bus service (Nit Bus) which serves most of the city and its suburban area, beginning around 10.40 p.m. and providing services until 5 a.m.
The city has a service of 11,000 taxis which can be easily identified by their yellow and black livery. A green light on top of the taxi indicates its availability.
The integrated fare system means that travel cards can be used on the metro, trams, FGC and Renfe trains (inter-city trains).
If you wish to paddle around, Barcelona has fully integrated cycle lanes and you can cycle through the city’s open spaces and parks, exploring the city on the two-wheeler.