Tourism

In his address at the Turespaña convention, Jordi Valls, Deputy Mayor of Barcelona, stressed that the public "demands we also measure success in terms of environmental impacts, working conditions, and how residents perceive the loss of the city’s identity," extending beyond mere data quantification.

Managing the tourism sector to prevent it from suffering from success is key, according to the Deputy Mayor of Barcelona. Jordi Valls emphasised this at the IV Annual Turespaña Convention held in Tenerife, with the theme “Everything Changes Again: Emerging Technologies for a New Tourism Model.”

According to Valls, the success of the new tourism model goes beyond data quantification. “We have always conducted quantitative and economic assessments based on visitor growth, overnight stays, and spending, but today the public demands that we also measure success in terms of environmental impacts, working conditions, and how residents perceive the loss of the city’s identity.”

Improved Taxation and Government Measures for Tourism Management

The Deputy Mayor of Barcelona stressed the need to increase tourism taxation: “It is crucial that visitors, as temporary citizens, contribute to financing the public services they use,” using the Tourist Stay Tax (IEET) in Barcelona as an example.

In his speech at the round table on “The Strategic Transformation of the Spanish Tourism Model,” Valls specified several measures that Barcelona is taking through the Government Measure for Tourism Management, relating to tourist transport, taxation, accommodation, and the management of High Inflow Spaces.

Lastly, Jordi Valls pointed out that digitalisation and entrepreneurship are two future challenges for the tourism sector.