Barcelona City Council and representatives from the various organisations in the bar and restaurant industry have met to discuss and agree on the best steps to take in the next few months and years in order to strengthen and revitalise Barcelona’s bars and restaurants. The representatives will also work together on the renovation of the Government Measure for the support and boosting of the bar and restaurant industry approved in July 2016, which will now be amended and republished to include new measures in accordance with the circumstances and needs of the current time and the reality of the next few years.

The players involved include, among others, the Department of Trade, Markets, Consumer and Internal Affairs and Finance, the Barcelona Bar and Restaurant Union, Marcas de Restauración, Restaurants Sostenibles, Slow Food Barcelona, Fundació Alícia, the Odela Food Observatory, Comissions Obreres, UGT, the Barcelona School of Hospitality (ESHOB), the Barcelona School of Tourism, Hospitality and Gastronomy (CETT), and specialists in economics and the bar and restaurant industry.

Measures for adapting to the new situation

Barcelona City Council has been pushing initiatives to foster the city centre’s commercial revitalisation for months. In relation to this, it has promoted and collaborated in the organisation of street shows and fairs, as well as shopping promotion events, always in coordination with the industry and local commercial establishments. In parallel to this, it has helped create a marketplace aimed at encouraging Barcelona’s shops ​to go online and its citizens to consume local products. Furthermore, a 75% reduction in the rate applicable to outdoor bar and restaurant areas has been approved.

The stable working group will now share projects and actions intended to continue revitalising the industry in the next few months, in a context that is still greatly affected by the pandemic. The measures will thus be planned taking into account residents’ new consumption habits and with an emphasis on delivery and takeaway services as well as more online services. More specifically, the aim is to move towards a more professional, online and sustainable commercial and food and restaurant industry in order to make it more resilient and help it provide greater value to the city.