Outbound Markets For Tourism

outbound
markets
for tourism
22 table of contents 3
44 foreword
Introducing the ACT
5 ACT Marketing Plan
6 The ACT in outbound markets for tourism
68
markets
Spain
12 France
16 Italy
20 United Kingdom
25 Germany
29 Austria
32 Switzerland
37 Belgium
40 The Netherlands
44 Nordic countries
48 Russia
52 China
56 Singapore
60 United States
65 Argentina
68 Brazil
72 products vs. markets

74 Catalan coast
78 Getaways
82 Routes
86 Nature, inland, mountains and adventure
90 MICE
94 Special interest holidays
96 appendix: statistics
109 bibliography
110 catalan tourist board offices abroad
table of
contents
4 introduction 5
Xavier Espasa Catalonia is at the forefront Jordi Secall The Marking Plan sets out
Director of the CMO of the
Catalan Tourist Board in tourism thanks to the Catalan Tourist Board and helps to identify a prod-
quality of the cultural attrac- uct portfolio based on expe-
tions it offers, its landscape, rience.
climate, prices and beaches.
fore- But this is not enough. In a changing world

the Catalan tourism sector and Catalonia as
a destination must be prepared to meet the
mar- The structuring of this portfolio into six large
product categories and the following work on
brands, labels and rankings are the impor-
word ket-
new needs of increasingly sophisticated and tant challenges posed by the Plan.
demanding consumers.
The product categories Holidays to enjoy
The Tourism Marketing Plan of Catalonia is a the Mediterranean lifestyle on the Catalan
tool that will provide responses and guide- coast, Getaways to kick back in Catalonia
lines for the coming years. It is clearly geared and Routes to discover a small country with
ing
to demand and in this regard our network of a great culture have been given strategic
offices outside Catalonia is constantly work- priority.
ing in outbound markets to obtain first-hand
input concerning new trends in travel and The Trips to enjoy nature, adventure, moun-
travellers consumption habits. This work will tains and countryside and Chances for a
help our tourism industry to become more different kind of meeting product categories
plan
competitive. will be of high priority.
We want to identify opportunities to develop The recently created product line Special
new products for new segments of the tour- interest holidays will be given occasional
ist market and help the sector to renovate it- priority, and will focus on travel to a place to
self. The Marketing Plan identifies new ways enjoy a very specific leisure activity.
of creating value and competing in markets,
taking regional balance into account and The attractiveness and potential of each
emphasising the need for greater profes- product in the outbound markets has been
sionalism in our businesses. studied in order to develop the best position-
ing strategies and better focus promotional
campaigns.
6 introduction 7
The aim of the Catalan Tourist Board is to

work continuously in mature and emerging catalan tourist board network
of offices outside catalonia
outbound markets to pursue six key objec-
tives:
1. To promote the Catalonia brand and the

tourist attractions of Catalonia in different
markets, both those where we have offices
Maria Pons
Director of International
and those where we do not.
Markets 2. To gear promotional work to real demand
2
in each market. 7
3. To identify the main tourism agents in each 4
5
market and develop professional links 1 3
11 6 8
there. 9
4. To detect new opportunities for promoting
Our market strategy ensures and marketing tourism in Catalonia.
our Marketing Plan is geared 5. To study the development of each market
and monitor the main tourism indicators. 10
to demand. The Catalan 6. To maintain contact with local media and
Tourist Board, with a global make efforts to ensure the presence there
12
of our destination.
network of 12 offices, oper-
ates in over 50 countries. As well as helping to achieve these goals,
the mission of the offices in the network is to
constantly monitor trends in demand in each
market, providing input which will enable us
to define market strategies accordingly. 1 Brussels Belgium, the Netherlands and Luxembourg
All the offices in the network provide B2B 2 Helsinki Sweden, Norway, Finland, Denmark, Estonia and Iceland
services (linking the Catalan tourism sector 3 Paris France
out-
and foreign tour operators working with Cat- 4 London United Kingdom and Ireland
alonia), except the Madrid office, which also 5 Frankfurt Germany, Austria, Switzerland, Slovakia, Czech Republic, Hungary and Poland
deals directly with tourists. 6 Milan Italy and Israel
7 Moscow Russia and former Soviet republics*
Every two years the Catalan Tourist Board or- 8 Beijing China, Taiwan and Hong Kong
bound
ganises an Outbound Market Workshop. 9 New York USA, Canada and Mexico
10 Singapore Singapore, Malaysia, Indonesia, Thailand, Japan, India, Australia and Korea
At this event it offers businesses and institu- 11 Madrid Spain and Portugal
tions in the Catalan tourism sector personal 12 So Paulo Brazil, Argentina, Peru, Chile and Colombia
consulting services, via B2B encounters with
mar-
the directors of the offices in the network, to *Former Soviet republics: Ukraine, Belarus, Kazakhstan, Latvia, Lithuania, Azerbaijan,
provide guidance and support for their inter- Georgia, Kyrgyzstan, Moldova, Tajikistan, Turkmenistan and Uzbekistan.
national operations.
More information: www.act.cat Catalan Tourist Board offices in other countries
kets 20
10
0
1993 1997 1998 2006 2011 2012 2014
offices
8 markets 9
General
description
of the market
Nria Perich The current situation of the Spanish market Internal travel by Spanish tourists has fallen
is overshadowed by the economic crisis and since 2009 as a result of the economic crisis,
Director of the
structural financial problems, the recession which has led to a substantial fall in demand.
Madrid office
and an atmosphere of marked economic Numbers of visitors arriving in Spanish autonomous
uncertainty. GDP is expected to decline but communities (millions)
Given the current circumstances we face
important challenges: we need to organise more slowly. In the fourth quarter of 2013 157.0 154.9 146.8 157.6 155 148.6 147.4 146.6
more aggressive campaigns emphasising the year-on-year variation was -0.1%, with a
value for money and special offers. Today we 1.7% drop in per capita GDP vs. 2012. The
are dealing with travellers who book at the Basque country, Navarre and Madrid are the
last moment and are very price conscious. autonomous communities with the highest
They are experienced tourists with a good per capita GDP. 2005 2006 2007 2008 2009 2010 2011 2012
knowledge of some parts of Catalonia, who Source: Familitur.
often plan their own trips and visit social net- Unemployment stands at 26% of the popula-
working sites, where they exchange opinions tion, meaning that nearly six million people
with other travellers. have no jobs.
Although Catalonia is seen as a quality des- Over 4 million tourists from other parts of Spain Andalusia is the autonomous community
tination, slightly more expensive than other visited Catalonia in 2012, 8.2% less than in receiving the largest number of internal
2011. The latest figures for the third quarter tourists, while Catalonia is in second place with
parts of Spain, such as Andalusia or Valen-
of 2013 record 3.12 million visitors, a year- 22 million.
cia, it is still preferred by a certain type of
traveller who appreciates a quality destina- on-year drop of 5.0%. Spain is our second- Most popular destinations with Spanish travellers in
largest market, after Catalonia itself (internal 2012, by autonomous community
tion and is interested in a variety of attrac-
tions, ranging from cultural tourism to sun tourism).Tourists from Spain made 120.1 mil- 45.1% 18.2%
and beach in well-tended resorts. Catalonia lion trips up to September 2013, 5.2% less
Other
continues to be famous for its great icons: than the same period in the previous year.
the city of Barcelona, Gaud, the Roman- 7.3% of these trips were to foreign countries Castile and Len
15.2%
esque heritage of Bo Valley, the Costa Brava and 92.7% were inside Spain, showing a Valencia
and the Pyrenees. generalised decline in travel by Spaniards. Catalonia

The proportion of travellers is highest in the 11.5% Andalusia
autonomous communities of Madrid (18.5%) 10%
and Catalonia (16.4%). The largest proportion
Source: Familitur, 2012. Autonomous communities visited
travelled by car (85.2%), followed by those
who flew (8.9%). The average length of stay
for internal tourism was 4.4 nights, and tour-
ists spent a total of 28,613 million, 8.5% less
than in 2011 (equivalent to 180.30/person/
trip and 38.10 per person/day). The most popular activities with Spanish
spain
tourists travelling inside Spain are shopping
and visiting relatives/friends.
Activities chosen by Spanish tourists travelling inside
Spain (2012)
Shopping 53.7%
Gastronomy 52.8%
Visiting family/friends 42.7%
Cultural visits 41.8%
Nature 36.8%
Sun and beach 34.1%
Night life 29.0%
Sports 18.1%
Source: Familitur.
10 markets
spain 11
Market Patterns of demand

structure Most Spanish tourists travelling inside Spain 86% of
23.4% of Spanish tourists travelling inside
use cars (84%), while 5.6% travel by bus, 5% travellers
by plane and 4.5% by train.
Spain make bookings beforehand, while with Internet
76.4% do not. 17.9% book accommodation
and 6.8% transport. 2.5% of journeys are
Online agencies grew slowly (16%), the main access use
portals being eDreams (Odigeo group),
booked via travel agents. Travel agents in-
Rumbo, Logitravel and Atrapalo. 86% of trav- it daily.
clude the online eDreams (Odigeo) service
ellers have access to the Internet. The use of
and the Globalia and Viajes El Corte Ingls
digital resources by consumers is increasing
groups.
and they seek the opinions of other travellers
on social platforms in order to make deci-
Transport sions about their own journey.
There are various options for travelling from
The largest numbers of visitors from other
the main cities in Spain to Barcelona:
parts of Spain are expected in the summer
months (June - August) and the long week-
Air links:
Vueling: 18 routes, with a total of 340 flights
ends at Easter and the 1st of May.
Trends and
AirEuropa: over 60 flights
Iberia: air shuttle
competitive
positioning
High-speed train (AVE) links: Madrid and
Saragossa are the cities with most trains to As a result of the economic crisis, the Span-
the four Catalan provincial capitals. The AVE ish market is in recession: internal demand
offers economical fares and there are special and tourism reservations are contracting and
promotions. slowing. This adverse economic background
has led to fewer stays in hotels, a reduction
in spending and the number of holidays and
Products
weekends spent away from home, while the
The products preferred by Spanish travellers number of trips to visit friends and/or family
are: has risen.
76.4% of Spanish
Sun and beach family holidays tourists travelling inside It is believed that people will continue to trav-
Activity and nature holidays el but on a smaller scale and paying more
Cultural and wine and gastronomy tourism Spain do not make attention to prices. Bookings will be made at
MICE tourism bookings beforehand. the last minute.
The strongest competitors in Spain, particu-

larly regarding travellers from the autono-
mous community of Madrid, are Castile and
Len, Castile-La Mancha and Valencia. Con-
cerning the most popular products, Aragon
and Sierra Nevada are the most competitive
in snow sports, while Costa de Llevant and
Murcia lead in sun and beach, because of
their proximity to Madrid, and Castile and
Len is most popular for nature holidays and
inland tourism.
The level of Spanish travellers knowledge

of Catalonia is medium/high, but there are
many areas and products they still have to
discover.
12 markets 13
General
description
of the market The most important motives for French travellers
are sun and beach and interesting routes.
Breakdown of journeys by reason for travelling (2010)
France, which recorded record unemploy-
Josefina Marin ment of 10.9% in 2013, is still the worlds top 9.9%
Director of the 34.9%
France office
tourism destination. Tourism is a key eco- 5.1%
Other
nomic indicator and accounted for 7% of 10.1% Nature
GDP, which progressed overall between the
Catalonia is today the top foreign destination
third and fourth quarter of 2013. Household Countryside
for French people. It is a mature, demanding
consumption of goods increased in the sec- Getaways/city breaks
market and Catalonias top outbound market 13.2%
ond half of 2013, although there was a nega- Routes
in terms of tourist numbers and spending.
tive trend in the first quarter (-0.4%).
They are tourists who organise their holidays 26.8%
Sun and beach
individually, are very appreciative of being
VAT increases are planned for hotels (from Source: THR based on European Travel Monitor.
spoken to in French, who increasingly de-
7% to 10%) and passenger transport (from
mand good service at a good price. They
5% to 7%) in January 2014.
enjoy good food, have a clear preference for
spending their holidays in authentic places French tourists: cumulative year-on-year
Over 4.1 million French tourists travelled to
with personality and favour sustainable prod- change (%)
Catalonia in 2013. The French outbound
ucts.
market accounts for 26.7% of foreign tourists. 35
16.5% of spending by tourists comes from 30

In the second half of 2013 the French market
the French market. Spending per tourist/stay
was affected by the recession and French 25
is 560 (+21.2%), equivalent to 79.60 per
tourists made fewer trips abroad as a result. 20
tourist/day.
Economic uncertainty and reduced purchas- 15
ing power have led French people to choose
Nearly half of the French tourists visiting 10
holiday destinations in France or very nearby.
Spain (43%) come to Catalonia. It is the 5
As a result, Catalonia, a competitive destina-
Spanish destination where spending by tour-
tion which is close to France, has seen an 0
ists has increased most in absolute terms,
increase in the number of visitors (up 8.9%) -5
mainly as a result of the contribution of the
and in spending by tourists (23.9%). JAN FEB MAR APR MAY JUN JUL AUG SEPT OCT NOV DEC
French market and increased spending by 13 13 13 13 13 13 13 13 13 13 13 13
French tourists.
The challenge for the future is to develop the Numbers
loyalty of visitors to Catalonia so that they Spending
continue to see it as an attractive destination.
We need to prioritise increasing income from
tourism and work to improve the visitors ex-
perience and satisfaction. We must continue
60% of French travellers use the Internet to
to raise awareness of the Catalonia brand plan their stay and 44% make bookings via the
and position it as a destination with an impor- Internet. The growth in online booking has been
tant natural and cultural heritage. In this way substantial.
france
we can contribute to the prosperity of Cata- The number of journeys made annually by
Breakdown of bookings (2011)
lonia and its tourism industry and focus on French tourists in Europe has remained
attracting value-added French tourism and constant at around 26 million in recent years.
satisfying the needs of visitors from France. Tourists arriving in European destinations (millions)
Offline
24.6 26.5 26.8 26.3 26.2 26.5 26.5 27.3
Online
2005 2006 2007 2008 2009 2010 2011 (est.) 2015
Source: Tourism Economics. Source: Cabinet Raffour / 2012 Edition.

14 markets
france 15
Market when planning a trip. The other main source

of information is travel guides. There are five
Patterns of demand Trends and
structure major publishers:
French tourists account for 17.4% of the oc-
competitive
In the French market there are few intermedi- Hachette Tourisme
cupation of Catalan hotel establishments. In positioning
2012:
aries dealing with Catalonia because of our Michelin Cartes & Guides
In 2013 we benefited from the unstable situ-
geographical proximity. Only 3.5% of French Lonely Planet
50.9% stayed in hotels or similar establish- ation in the eastern Mediterranean and the
visitors contracted a package. The market Gallimard
ments weakness of the French economy, which
share of online agencies has grown at the Petit Fut
26.9% had free accommodation (own encouraged tourism in nearby destinations.
expense of traditional agencies, who are suf- 2014 is also expected to be a good year for
property, with friends)
fering from a global structural and liquidity Magazine supplements also play an impor-
13% stayed in rented accommodation tourism in Catalonia.
crisis. tant role. In a typical French home these are
9.1% stayed in other accommodation
likely to be kept for three to four years.
(campsites, caravans, rural tourism ac- French tourists look for authentic places with
The French market does, however, have a In a market with 40.2 million Internet users,
commodation) personality to visit. There is great potential
number of other intermediaries: works com- online sales and marketing channels have a
for family holidays (because of the high birth
mittees, mutual benefit societies, hypermar- strong presence. Users may compare infor-
The school calendar divides France in three rate) and travel for seniors.
kets, associations and gift boxes. mation from six or more websites. The main
large areas with five holiday periods includ-
groups of tourist information websites are:
ing summer and Christmas. School holidays Our main competitors are France itself, in
Transport all products and segments, and, because
are used for family getaways outside the usu-
Publishers websites: Routard, Petit Fut and
al holiday periods (summer, Christmas and of their proximity, Italy, Benelux, Germany,
Barcelona-El Prat Airport accounts for 96.8% Lonely Planet.
Easter). the United Kingdom and Switzerland, plus
of flights (292 in high season and 232 in low Comparative websites: Easyvoyage, Kayak,
the other autonomous communities in Spain,
season). The outlook is good, given the new Cheapflights, Travelsupermarket and Voy-
There is also a two-week holiday period at especially the Canary Islands, the Balearic
high-speed train services which link 13 cities agermoinscher.
Christmas and the months of July and Au- Islands, Valencia and Andalusia.
in France with 3 in Catalonia. The SNCF ex- Websites with user opinions: TripAdvisor and
gust in summer. Our competitors, by product, are as follows:
pects to carry a million passengers on these Zoover.
lines. Sites using newsletters to help users find and
Ski, active, nature holidays and rural tour-
French visitors arriving in Catalonia travel by: compare good deals: Travelzoo and Planeta-
ism: Italy, Switzerland, Andorra, Aragon,
zoo.
Navarre, the Basque country, Castile and
Air: 23.1% Social networks and communities: Face-
Len.
Sea: 0.7% book, Easyvoyage, Google+.
City breaks: the main European capitals.
Train: 0.6% Sun and beach tourism: Italy, Greece, Mo-
Own vehicle: 75.7% The main online travel portals: voyages-sncf.
rocco, Tunisia, Portugal, Croatia, the Do-
com, Odigeo (eDreams, Opodo), Voyage-
minican Republic and Malaysia.
Products prive.com, Lastminute.com.
Cultural tourism: Italy, the United Kingdom,
France has Central and Eastern Europe, Greece and
French tourists are looking for getaways It is also interesting to note the rapid growth
Egypt.
and holidays that allow them to disconnect and potential of tourism apps for mobiles. 40 million Seniors: Italy, Tunisia, Morocco, Andorra
from everyday life and enjoy nature and the and the rest of Spain.
beach. They are also great consumers of cul- Internet users
tural products. who regularly Peoples knowledge of Catalonia is gener-
use online ally good, because of proximity and shared
Consumer opinion is led by traditional me- history, but they have difficulty identifying all
dia and online communication. It is a highly channels to the different Catalan tourism brands. French
segmented market, in which tourists use the people are most familiar with the Costa Bra-
Internet as their first source of information book and pay
va, Barcelona and the Costa Daurada.
for travel. The Barcelona and Bara brands are well
positioned, as are Dal, Gaud and Mir as
icons.
16 markets 17
General
description
of the market
Italy has a population of over 60 million, with Over 80% of international travel by Italians is
Marta Teixidor motivated by sun and beach, routes and city
Director of the Italy
year-on-year GDP of -0,8%, unemployment
of 10.7%, VAT at 22%, per capita income of breaks.
office
26,000 and a tax rate of 47.6%. Breakdown of journeys by reason for travelling (2010)
Catalonia is the top destination for Italians 10.7%
visiting Spain, so we are obliged to work con- Spain is the top foreign destination for long 2.8% 31.1% Other
stantly to position, reinforce and differentiate holidays among Italian tourists and Catalo- 3.1%
Wellness/health
the Catalonia brand among Italians. The on- nia is the autonomous community visited by
line channel is a top priority, as over 73% of most Italian tourists. With 1,106,221 tourists, Nature
Italian tourists organise their visit to Catalonia Italy is in fourth place, after France, the Unit- 22.0% Getaways/city breaks
independently via the Internet. This is a new ed Kingdom and Germany. Sun and beach
development. 30.3%
Routes
The average length of stay was 5.5 days and
It is also important to consider the diversi- spending was 7% lower than in 2012. Source: Tourism Economics.
fication of known destinations in Catalonia,

to promote cultural routes designed for dif-
ferent types of visitor, and to attract different
types of potential tourists, such as seniors
and families. Since 2009 the number of Italians visiting 1.3 million Italian tourists came to Catalonia in
Catalonia has shown a positive trend and it is 2011, but their favourite destination is France,
Catalonia has many attractions for Italian hoped that by 2015 numbers will return to 2008 with over 8 million visitors.
visitors and they need to be emphasised: levels (before the crisis). Numbers, growth and forecast for visits to main
destinations (millions)
it is seen as a safe, easy destination by in- Tourists arriving in European destinations (millions)
dependent tourists, because of its cultural
20.2 21.5 21.9 22.5 21.2 21.8 21.9 22.5 2007 2008 2009 2010 2011 2015 %*
proximity and the varied attractions avail- France 8.1 8.2 7.8 7.8 7.7 7.7 -0.2%
able, which fit in well with Italian tastes. Total Spain 2.6 3.4 3.2 3.3 3.2 3.1 -3.3%
Germany 1.4 1.4 1.4 1.5 1.5 1.5 -2.0%
They have a very positive image of Barce- United Kingdom 1.6 1.6 1.2 1.4 1.4 1.6 +10.3%
Catalonia 1.5 1.3 1.1 1.2 1.3
lona and the Costa Brava and access is easy
by air, sea or road. Catalonia competes very 2005 2006 2007 2008 2009 2010 2011 (est.) 2015 Source: IET and Tourism Economics.
*Cumulative growth forecast for 2011-2015.
well with holidays in Italy itself, offering lower Source: Tourism Economics.
prices and good value.
36.6% of Italians travel without booking
italy
beforehand, while 38.3% book their trips online.
No previous booking
Booking via an intermediary
Direct online booking
Direct offline booking
Source: ISTAT 2013.

18 markets
italy 19
Market Most Italian tourists (77.5%) fly to Catalonia,

Patterns of demand
structure while 14% travel by sea and 8.2% come by
When Italian tourists travel abroad their ac- 63% of
road.
Catalonia is a destination that receives lit-
commodation preferences are as follows: Italians
tle attention in the brochures of the 13 tour Products Hotels: 67.3% (3-4 stars) book their
operators who account for 75% of the Italian
market; networks of travel agencies are very Italian tourists are looking for the following
Relatives and friends: 10.5% holidays
Apartments: 12.3%
well established in the country. products:
Campsites: 3.9% online.
Bed & Breakfasts: 6%
Sun and beach tourism
Transport
City breaks
78% of Italians use the Internet (mobile
Currently there are air links between 18 Ital- Cultural tourism
phones and/or computers) to find informa-
ian airports and Barcelona: 172 flights a
tion about holidays: 63% book their holidays
week at present, rising to 252 in high sea- We can identify the following emerging prod-
without intermediaries or directly via the In-
son. Girona Airport has links with 8 Italian air- ucts:
ternet and 43% have bought tourism prod-
ports; Ryanair currently operates 16 flights a
ucts via the Internet in the last 12 months,
week, rising to 33 a week in high season. Senior tourism
mostly plane tickets and hotel bookings.
Tourism for schools
Religious tourism
There is considerable Internet penetration in
Italy (36% of the population) and Facebook
Trends and
has 24 million users. 13 million of them log on competitive positioning
every day and 16 million use mobiles and/or
tablets for Internet access. As a result of the current economic crisis,
peoples visits are shorter and they stay in
There are a number of travel publications in more economical accommodation. For the
the Italian market: same reason there is a clear preference for
nearby destinations. Nevertheless, the num-
Corriere de la Sera, Italys most popular ber of Italians spending their holidays abroad
newspaper, has a weekly travel section. is increasing and demand is becoming less
Il Sole 24 Ore is the countrys leading seasonalised.
publication on economics and contains a
travel section. There is increased use of the Internet to find
Guida Viaggi: trade journal, with a strong information about destinations and more
presence in travel agencies. people are making last-minute bookings
Travel Quotidiano: trade review which also (from 2 months to 8 days in advance). The
organises workshops. main tour operators are setting up direct on-
Qui Touring: Touring Club Italiano tourism line sales channels.
review. Mid/upper range target audience.
Turismo allaria aperta: travel magazine Catalonias main competitors are as follows:
for tourists who like open-air holidays at
campsites and in camper vans. Sun and beach tourism: Italy, Egypt,
France, Greece and Croatia.
The Internet and social networks have a Nature holidays: Italy, Austria, Switzerland
strong presence in the Italian market and are and France.
used actively for travel. Cultural tourism/city breaks: Italy, France,
Germany, the United Kingdom and the
Italian school holidays are very similar to United States.
ours: Christmas, Easter and the summer.
Catalonia is associated above all with Barce-
lona and the Costa Brava and is seen as an
easy sun and beach destination with cultur-
al attractions and interesting cities and one
offering good value for money.
20 markets 21
General description
of the market
GDP in the third quarter of 2013 was 0.8% The most important motives for British
higher than in the second quarter. The larg- travellers are sun and beach and city breaks.
Vicen Capdevila est contribution to GDP growth came from Breakdown of journeys by reason for travelling (2010)
Director of the UK the service, leisure and culture sector. At De-
office cember 2013, the consumer price index had 19.7% 38.0% Other
risen 2.1% during the year. Unemployment
In 2013, 1,685,323 tourists from the United was 7.1%, i.e. there were 2,320,000 people Countryside
Kingdom visited Catalonia, 4.9% more than out of work, a drop of 172,000 people. 6.5% Nature
the preceding years, with an increase in Routes
8.5%
spending of 4.3%. All-inclusive packages The exchange rate was 1 EUR = 0.832 GBP Getaways/city breaks
have become more popular since the crisis on 31 December 2013. 9.9% Sun and beach
began. A curious feature is the tendency for 17.4%
British tourists to organise weddings and British tourists are Spains top outbound mar- Source: THR based on European Travel Monitor.
stag/hen nights abroad. ket, accounting for 23.7% of visitors, a year-
on-year increase of 0.3%.
British tourists like Catalonia because they
see it as a destination offering good value 1,685,323 British tourists came to Catalo-
for money. It has a mild, pleasant climate, nia, 10.8% of the total number of tourists,
excellent beaches, attractive surroundings spending an average of 6.1 days here. An-
and many additional attractions such as cul- nual spending rose by 8.7% in 2012, totalling 1.3 million British tourists came to Catalonia in
ture and gastronomy. Barcelona is still the 1,218,026.595 euros. 2011 and Spain was their favourite destination,
brand best known to British tourists and the with over 13.5 million visitors.
one they like most. Our commitment should Numbers, growth and forecast for visits to main
be to go on working to position the Catalonia destinations (millions)
brand, encourage tourists to visit other parts
of Catalonia and consolidate it as a leading 2007 2008 2009 2010 2011 2015 %*
Total Spain 16.3 15.8 13.3 13.4 13.5 15.1 +11.3%
multi-product and family holiday destination. France 13.8 13.1 11.2 10.9 11.2 11.7 +4.9%
To achieve these goals it is fundamental to Italy 4.4 3.8 3.4 3.3 3.4 3.8 +9.9%
go on strengthening our presence on the In- Ireland 4.4 4.2 3.7 3.2 3.2 3.7 +15.4%
ternet and in social networks. Catalonia 2.3 2.2 1.6 1.3 1.3
Source: IET and Tourism Economics.

Lastly, it should be noted that British tour- *Cumulative growth forecast for 2011-2015.
ists appreciate ecological tourism and envi-

ronmental sustainability will very soon be a
differentiating factor in demand for tourism
products.
Almost half of British tourists contact the

supplier in their destination directly when
united
There are some signs of recovery in travel to
booking their holidays.
Europe but it is not expected to return to pre-
crisis levels before 2015. Breakdown of bookings
Tourists arriving in European destinations (millions) Directly with

supplier at
destination
55.6 57.0 57.9 55.2 47.6 47.3 48.4 53.9
Offline travel
agencies and tour
kingdom
operators
Online
No previous
booking
2005 2006 2007 2008 2009 2010 2011 (est.) 2015
Source: Tourism Economics. Source: Flash Eurobarometer reports.

22 markets
united kingdom 23
Market Products Patterns of demand

structure The most popular products among visitors
70% of British travellers stay at hotels or sim- 78% of
from the UK are:
In the British market there are few intermedi-
ilar establishments, the average stay being trips are
Sun and beach tourism four days.
aries dealing with Catalonia and 60% of tour-
Family holidays
organised
ists do not use a service of this kind.
City breaks Internet use is widespread and 78% of jour- using the
MICE tourism neys are organised in this way. This trend is
Tour operators include TUI & First Choice,
increasing. User figures are as follows: Internet.
Thomas Cook, Jet2holidays, Cosmos and
Co-operative Travel, and online agencies Emerging products:
Cruise tourism Facebook (37.4 million)
(Expedia (the market leader), TripAdvisor,
Senior tourism YouTube (32.1 million)
Cendant, Lastminute, Lowcostgroup and
Sustainable tourism Twitter (15.5 million)
Travel Republic) have a 20% market share.
LinkedIn (7.9 million)
Publications aimed at the tourism sector in- Flickr (6.7 million)
Transport clude TTG, Travelmole and Travel Weekly
(for the industry) and Lonely Planet Maga- School holidays in the UK are spread
The means of transport used by UK visitors
zine (for end consumers). The following also throughout the year, with a month and a half
to Catalonia are as follows:
Air: 93.3% deal with travel: in summer. Trends and
Sea: 0.7%
Private car: 5.6% Mail on Sunday: national daily paper with
competitive
Train: 0.3% travel section. positioning
Time Out: magazine with travel section.
Flights to Catalonia in the winter season Guardian.co.uk/travel: website. British tourists are looking for an authentic
2013/2014: LBC Travel Show: radio programme deal- experience. It is interesting to note the rise
ing with travel. of the all-inclusive product, which is chosen
Barcelona, winter 2013 by 37.1% of travellers. It provides better con-
easyJet: 93 flights per week sumer protection and smaller deposits have
British Airways: 81 flights per week to be paid on booking.
Ryanair: 44 flights per week Travellers are tending to reduce the number
Monarch: 25 flights per week of days they spend on holiday and are very
Vueling: 19 flights per week price conscious.
Aer Lingus: 18 flights per week
Norwegian: 3 flights per week British tourists use social forums and smart-
phones to prepare their trips.
Girona, winter 2013
Ryanair: 46 flights per week Catalonias main competitors are France,
Italy, Greece, Cyprus, Turkey, Tunisia and
Reus, winter 2013 Egypt.
Ryanair: 29 flights per week
Thomson Airways: 17 flights per week British tourists have a good knowledge of
Thomas Cook: 12 flights per week the Catalonia brand and the Costa Brava,
Jet2: 5 flights per week Costa Daurada and Barcelona brands, but
are much less knowledgeable about other
brands and products. They are loyal to the
brand and report a high level of satisfaction.
markets central europe
germany
24 25
General description
of the market
Germany is Catalonias third-largest out- The most important motives for German
bound market, after France and the United travellers are sun and beach and nature.
Montserrat Sierra Kingdom, with a total of 1,277,900 visitors, Breakdown of journeys by reason for travelling (2010)
Director of the Central an increase of 9.9% on the previous year.
Europe office 23.2% Other
33.2%
In 2012 the German market experienced Wellness/health
In this area it is important to distinguish be- economic growth of 0.7% and forecasts for Routes
tween countries with a long tradition of tourism 2013 point to an increase in GDP of 0.6% 5.0%
Getaways/city breaks
(Germany, Switzerland and Austria) and those and an unemployment level of 6.8% (2.9 mil- 7.2%
where travel has started more recently (Poland, lion out of work). Nature
Czech Republic, Hungary and Slovakia). 13.4% 18.0% Sun and beach
Inflation was 2.0% and consumption rose by Source: THR based on European Travel Monitor.
The former are experienced tourists who know 1.6%. Exports increased by 4.1% while im-
the Catalonia brand well, especially Barcelona ports rose by 2.3%.
and the Costa Brava. In these countries, our
main objectives for the future are to continue Total spending by tourists in Catalonia in
raising awareness of our country and to try to 2013 was 988.8 million euros, 7.5% higher
stimulate interest in other geographical areas, than in the previous year.
maintain the number of visits and average level
of spending, attracting visitors with greater pur- Approximately 1 million German tourists come
chasing power and deseasonalising tourism. to Catalonia each year but their favourite
destination is France, with over 12 million
visitors.
Tourists from these countries plan their holidays
thoroughly and see Catalonia as a leading des- Numbers, growth and forecast for visits to main
tination.
2007 2008 2009 2010 2011 2015 %*
Travellers from the second group of countries France 13.0 11.6 11.1 11.5 11.8 12.7 +7.7%
Italy 9.9 9.8 9.5 9.7 10.0 10.1 +0.9%
have much less experience and there is not Total Spain 10.1 10.1 8.9 8.7 9.0 9.8 -8.9%
such a tradition of travel; their economies are Austria 7.0 7.3 7.3 7.4 7.4 7.3 -1.4%
less stable and there may be pronounced im- Catalonia 1.4 1.4 1.1 1.0 1.0 - -
balances between them. Nevertheless, they Source: IET and Tourism Economics.
are new markets with potential for growth, *Cumulative growth forecast for 2011-2015.
where travel is becoming a need rather than a
luxury. Barcelona is the best-known brand, fol-
lowed by the Costa Brava. We should take ad-
vantage of this market to promote other parts of
the country and other popular products, such
as activity, shopping and ski holidays.
The number of journeys to Europe by Germans
central
43% of German tourists use tour operators and
is recovering after the crisis and is expected to offline travel agencies when booking travel.
reach 72 million by 2015.
germany
Tourists arriving in European destinations (millions)
Offline travel agencies and
austria
43%
tour operators
68.9 68.2 70.4 68.5 66.1 67.0 68.8 72.8
Directly with owners of
26%
europe
accommodation
switzerland Internet/portal 14%
Direct transport bookings 13%

2005 2006 2007 2008 2009 2010 2011 (est.) 2015 0 10 20 30 40
Source: THR based on European Travel Monitor. Source: RA 2011.
germany
26 27
Market Transport Patterns of demand When organising travel:

structure Currently there are 295 direct flights from 13
76% of visitors come to Catalonia by air and 85% of Germans use opinion portals (es-
German airports to Catalonia: pecially HolidayCheck and TripAdvisor)
23% in private cars. 55% of tourists choose
TUI, Touristik Rewe Group and Thomas Cook Barcelona: 240 flights (since March 2013 64% use tour operator portals
hotels and guesthouses for their accommo-
are Germanys leading tour operators, with a Vueling has flown to Barcelona from Frank- 61% use online agencies
dation, while 19% prefer holiday homes and
market share of over 50%. furt, Hanover, Dresden, Stuttgart, Dssel- 38% follow the recommendations of friends
apartments. In 2012 the average length of
dorf and Dortmund). and family
stay was 10.3 days, slightly less than the fig-
The main online portals for hotel bookings Girona: 46 flights. 35% are guided by magazines and bro-
ure for the previous year.
are HRS, with a 34.4% market share, Book- Reus: 9 flights. chures
ing.com, with 28.5%, and Hotel.de, with 23% use traditional agencies
15.85%. 17% use social networks
Products Means of transportt
The main products consumed by German 0.6% 0.2% In 2012, 53% of bookings were made via on-
The major tour operators account for over 50% tourists are: 23.0% line tour operators and 26% via conventional
of the market. The chart shows the main tour Sun and beach tourism: 22% Train tour operators and travel agencies.
operators in the German market. Family holidays: 14%
Sea
Breakdown of market share (%) Relaxing getaways: 12% 56% of German tourists use Internet during
Air
Visiting family and friends: 9% their holidays, uploading photos, posting
Other
Activity holidays: 8% Own vehicle
comments or looking for information about
Schaunisland Reisen
76.1% local attractions and activities (35%).
Aida Cruises
Products
FTI (incl. Big Extra) 2% Cultural travel
The main products In Germany, school holidays and conse-
Alltours 2% Sightseeing Accommodation
consumed by German quently family holidays are at different times
Thomas Cook tourists are: sun and 2% Nature 16% in the summer months depending on each
beach tourism (22%), 55%
Der Touristic
family holidays (14%),
3% Relaxation land. As a result, the arrival of German visi-
TUI Deutschland relaxing getaways (12%), 4% Other 5% tors is staggered, with most arriving between
visiting family and friends Campsites
4% Health 5% June and September.
(9%) and activity holidays Boarding houses
(8%). 5% Tours
22
Holiday homes
3 2 6% Activity and apartments
4 22 19% Hotels and hostels
4 7% Family holidays
5 8% Study In 2012 the average length of stay by German tourists was 10.3
6 9% Festivities days, while the average for the previous year was 10.5 days.
14
12% Experiences Source: Reiseanalyse 2013, Erste Ausgewhlte Ergebnisse der 43.
7
14% Visiting family and friends
8 12
9 22% Sun and beach
0 1,000 2,000 3,000 4,000 5,000 6,000 7,000 8,000
Revenue (million euros)

Customers (thousands)
In general the sale of newspapers has fallen
(4% for local papers and 2.7% for others)
and over 50% of Germans read some kind
of online news.
Main online hotel booking portals in Germany
(% market share) The main German newspapers are: Bild,
Sddeutsche Zeitung, Frankfurter Allge-
HRS 34.4
Booking.com 28.5 meine Zeitung and Die Welt. There are also
Hotel.de 15.8 10 supra-regional and 315 regional and local
Other 9.9
Expedia 4.1 newspapers. Lonely Planets Traveller maga-
Hotels.com 2.1
Venere 1.4 zine has recently appeared on the market.
Unister 1.2
Lastminute.com 1.1
eBay 0.5 Other journals to be borne in mind are:
eBookers 0.5 ADAC
Geo Spezial
austria
28 29
General
40% are description
interested in of the market
Trends and ecological and
competitive sustainable
The Austrian economy grew by 3.1% during
the year. Per capita income rose by 2.1% to
The most important motives for Austrian
travellers are sun and beach and city breaks.
positioning holidays. 35,790. The number of unemployed was Breakdown of journeys by reason for travelling (2010)
179,000, a fall of 9,000 compared with the
Generally speaking, there is a tendency for previous year. The country appears to be 15.6%
Other
tourists to shorten their stays in our country. 39.6%
emerging from recession quite quickly, as 4.0% Nature
40% are interested in ecological and sus- GDP and exports are growing and unem-
5.9% Countryside
tainable holidays. Despite the crisis, 76% ployment is falling.
believe their holiday plans will not be af- Routes
fected, although 9% will cut spending, 4% Spain is the fourth most-popular summer hol- 16.9%
Getaways/city breaks
will shorten their holidays and 5% will not go Countries competing with Catalonia include iday destination for Austrians. It was chosen Sun and beach
away. Italy, Turkey and Austria. by 8% of travellers, most of whom came in 18.0%
the third quarter. Austrians have not felt the Source: THR based on European Travel Monitor.
Spain, with a 13% market share, is the most Knowledge of Catalonia varies, depending effects of the crisis as much as those in other
popular destination among Germans, fol- on each land, but in general the Barcelona, countries, so quality remains an important
lowed by Italy. We anticipate a certain in- Costa Brava, Costa Daurada and Pirineus consideration.
crease in the number of visitors and greater tourism brands are well known and have a
demand for customised travel. strong presence in the German market. After a period of decline in the number of
Austrians visiting Spain, there has been a Between 100,000 and 200,000 Austrians visit
Competitors steady increase since 2011. In 2013 Catalo- Catalonia each year. The top destination in
nia was visited by 171,600 Austrian tourists, the Austrian market is Italy, with over 3 million
Most popular destinations among Germans in 2012
1.8% more than in 2012. tourists.
13.0%
Numbers, growth and forecast for visits to main
Total spending there in 2013 was 339.2 mil- destinations (millions)
8.4%
7.3% lion euros, 8.71% more than in 2012. 2007 2008 2009 2010 2011 2015 %*
5.5%
2.9% 2.8% 1.9% 1.9% Italy 2.5 3.1 3.4 3.5 3.4 3.0 -10.0%
1.6% Germany 1.2 1.2 1.3 1.2 1.2 1.3 -1.6%
Crotia 0.8 0.8 0.9 0.9 0.9 1.0 -15%
Spain Italy Turkey Austria Croatia France Greece Netherlands Denmark France 0.6 0.7 0.7 0.7 0.7 0.6 -0.5%
Catalonia 0.1 0.2 0.1 0.2 0.1
Source: FUR Reiseanalyse 2013.
The number of journeys made annually by

Austrian tourists in Europe has remained
constant at around 9.6 million in recent years.
7.9% 8.4% 8.3% 9.2% 9.6% 9.7% 9.6% 9.7%
2005 2006 2007 2008 2009 2010 2011 (est.) 2015
Source: Tourism Economics.

austria
30 31
Market Products Austrian homes with computers and Internet access
structure Tourism products in demand

Vienna
Tyrol 61% of
Salzburg
Activities chosen by Austrian tourists and number of
nights spent in Catalonia in 2011 (%) Lower Austria Austrian
61% of Austrian tourists organise their trips Burgenland
independently and they regularly use the Destination 1-3 nights over 4 nights Total Upper Austria tourists
Internet to buy tickets and book accommo- Sun and beach holidays 9.4 25.7 20.9 Styria
organise
Carinthia
dation. Typically these tourists are aged be- Activity holidays 11.7 11.6 11.6
tween 24 and 35 and travel to cities. Relaxing getaways 15.6 17.2 16.7
Voralberg
their trips
Beauty treatment 4.3 1.3 2.2
Health treatments 0.8 0.5 0.6 Access to Internet independently.
Transport Visiting family and friends 17.6 14.2 15.2 Computers
Courses/training 0.9 1.9 1.6
Source: Statistik Austria, 2012.
The state airline AUA has two flights a day to Cultural visits 31.1 24.4 26.4
Barcelona and plans to increase the number Shopping 0.5 0.5 0.5
Events 5.4 1 2.3
to three in the summer season. Other com- Most short visits by Austrians were between
Other 2.7 1.6 1.9
panies flying from Austria are: Flyniki (every May and September, while stays longer than
day) and Vueling (weekly). four nights were concentrated in the school
holidays, in July and August.
Flyniki has its hub in Palma de Mallorca and Most Austrian tourists (59.7%) travelling pri-
from there it flies to other European cities. vately stayed in hotels. In the case of busi- The most popular months for business trips
ness travel, hotel accommodation accounted are April, May and June.
Other regular airlines that provide a service for 86.7% of nights spent in Catalonia.
Trends and
but do not operate from any airports in Aus- Austrian visitors to Spain are mainly interest-
tria are Lufthansa and Swiss Air. These com- Internet use is widespread: 78.7% of house- ed in sun and beach holidays, with cultural competitive
panies operate from Munich and Zurich, cit- holds went online during the last three
months of 2012. 50.5% of these visits were to
products in second place. positioning
ies through which many Austrians go when
they travel. There are 35 flights a week from obtain information about offers and services
The main reason for visiting Spain was lei-
Vienna. related to tourism.
sure and holiday travel (81.7%), followed by
business trips (18.2%).
Tourists arriving in European destinations Tendncies Generally speaking, visitor numbers are ex-
Most popular international holiday destinations among
Austrians pected to rise. Demand from Austrian tourists
visiting Spain focuses mainly on the Balearic
Destination 2010 % 2011 % Chge. 10/11 %
Italy 1,772.4 20.5 1,817.4 22.3 1.8
Islands, Catalonia, the Canary Islands and
Germany 1,285.5 15.3 1,300.0 15.9 0.6 Andalusia. There is a clear predominance of
Croatia 857.0 10.2 1,011.0 12.4 2.2 visitors with medium-high purchasing power
Spain 554.5 6.6 528.6 6.5 -0,1 and a growing interest in culture.
Total 8,402.0 100.0 8,153.8 100.0 -2.3
Catalonias main competitors are Italy, Ger-

Most popular international holiday destina- many, Croatia, Turkey, Greece, France and
tions among Austrians: the United Kingdom, followed by the other
autonomous communities in Spain.
Italy
Germany The main attractions for Austrian visitors are
Croatia the regional attractions of the whole of Spain,
Spain the language, culture and big cities like Bar-
celona.
switzerland
32 33
General description
of the market
Swiss GDP rose by 2.6% in 2011, a rising The trend in Swiss travel to Europe is positive: Moderate growth in European destinations
trend supported by banking, insurance, IT, it is estimated that in 2015 the number of is expected in the coming years with Spain,
real estate and research and development. tourists will exceed 17 million. Turkey, Greece and Italy taking the lead.
Per capita GDP in 2010 was 70,000 CHF. Tourists arriving in European destinations (thousands)
Regarding other economic indicators, unem- 17.1
ployment stood at around 3.4% and inflation 14.0 14.6 13.9 14.0 14.3 14.9 There is great diversity in the channels
12.5 used to book travel, although almost 40%
was approximately 4%.
of Swiss book via direct contact with the
accommodation provider.
Swiss tourists visiting Spain, 1998-2011
Breakdown of bookings
% change total no. 2005 2006 2007 2008 2009 2010 2011 (est.) 2015
Thousands % chge. foreign tourists Accommodation provider
of tourists (year-on-year) arriving in Spain 39%
1998 1,251 +9.6 +9.7 Travel agency website 16%
1999 1,203 -3.8 +7.8 Independent travel
agencies 11%
2000 1,198 -0.4 -2.4 Travel agencies affiliated 11%
2001 1,233 +2.9 +4.6 with tour operators
2002 1,223 -0.8 +4.5 Tour operator websites 11%
2003 1,043 -14.7 +0.3 Other 9%
2004 1,080 +3.5 +3.4
2005 1,155 +9.7 +2.1
The most important motives for Swiss
2006 1,380 +19.5 +2.4
2007 1,376 -0.1 +1.1 travellers are sun and beach and city breaks. The Swiss market is mature and stable and
2008 1,287 -6.5 -2.3 Breakdown of journeys by reason for travelling (2010) its development depends more on internal
2009 1,141 -11.3 -8.7 factors than external (conflict affecting the
2010 1,157 +2.6 +1.0 15.6% economic situation). The profile of the typi-
2011 1,373 +18.7 +2.4 33.4% Other cal Swiss tourist is a person aged between
3.8%
Source: IET, Frontur. Nature 25 and 44 (45%) or 45 and 66 (28.8%) who
11.7%
Routes works and travels with a partner, alone or
Countryside with the family. Retired people account for
In 2013 Catalonia was visited by 397,100 Getaways/city breaks 10.3% of Swiss travellers.
Swiss tourists, 4.5% less than in 2012. 13.3%
22.2% Sun and beach
Spending in Catalonia 2013 was 339.2 mil-
lion euros, 5.08% more than in the previous
Source: THR based on European Travel Monitor.
year. The most popular destinations for Swiss
travellers are neighbouring countries, while
Spain is in fifth place. 40% of Swiss
contact the
Number of journeys involving overnight stays in tourist
accommodation
France is the most popular destination for
accommodation, by destination (thousands) Swiss travellers, with 5.6 million visitors. provider directly
Catalonia was visited by 1.3 million tourists
Destination 2003 2008
% chge.
2003-2008 % of total in 2011. when booking.
Total 17,872 20,069 +12% 100%
Switzerland 9,097 8,922 -2% 44.5%
Germany 1,503 2,776 +85% 13.8%
Austria 524 825 +58% 4.1% 2007 2008 2009 2010 2011 2015 %*
Italy 1,859 1,691 -9% 8.4% France 5.3 5.1 4.8 1.8 1.9 5.6 -15.0%
France 1,767 1,863 +5% 9.3% Italy 2.9 2.5 3.0 3.2 3.3 3.5 +7.4%
Spain 557 731 +31% 3.6% Germany 1.7 1.8 1.9 2.0 2.0 2.2 +12.1%
Rest of Europe 1,470 1,977 +34% 9.9% Total Spain 1.4 1.3 1.1 1.2 1.2 1.5 +19.9%
Rest of world 943 1,268 +34% 6.3% Catalonia 0.4 0.4 0.3 0.3 0.4
Unknown 152 16 0.1%
Source: BFS, Reiseverhalten 2008. *Cumulative growth forecast for 2011-2015.
switzerland
34 35
Capacity of airline companies 2002-2012
25,000
20,000
15,000
Market Patterns of demand Trends and

10,000
structure 5,000
The majority of Swiss tourists arrived by air
competitive
Most Swiss tourists prefer to book accommo- 0 (86.7%), while 12.7% arrived by road. 64.3% positioning
2002 2003 2004 2005 2006 2007 2008 2009 2010 2011 2012 stayed at hotels or similar establishments.
dation by phone (75%) but only 18% do this
Significant percentages own property, have The areas where there is scope for growth
when travelling to Spain, Internet being the Swiss easyJet TUIfly Skywork
time shares or stay in private homes (with are city trips, cruises, gastronomy, the coun-
most popular method in this case (22%). Iberia Air Berlin Flybaboo Vueling
family or friends). tryside, health and beauty, events and cel-
ebrations. In the sun and beach segment we
While most Swiss travellers prefer to buy tick-
A total of 690,615 people stayed at Spanish need to build loyalty. There is great poten-
ets in person, 45% choose to use the Inter- Market share 2012
hotels in 2011, spending a total of 3,111,393 tial for making attractions available at other
net when they travel to Spain. In the case of
3% 2% 2% Skywork nights. times of year, encouraging visitors to make
destinations on the Mediterranean coast, the 5%
city trips, take short breaks, go shopping, at-
figure rises to 62%. 36%
TUIfly
10%
Air Europa
93% of Swiss homes have access to the tend concerts, etc.
Internet, which suggests that they use new
Vueling
technologies extensively when preparing Satisfaction with the destination (data for
Booking channels: tourism packages 13% Iberia
trips. The websites visited most frequently Spain)
Total Spain Switzerland Air Berlin are hotel chains, the portals of the destina-
Satisfaction with the destination
Phone 34% 29% 24% easyJet tion and general travel portals. (-1 not satisfied / +1 satisfied)
In person 28% 35% 16% 29%
Swiss
By letter 9% 3% 23% Overall Satisfaction with
Fax 3% 2% 3%
Summer is the period when most travel takes satisfaction what is available Satisfaction with
Source: Spanish Tourist Information Office in Zurich, based on with the trip at the destination accommodation
E-mail 10% 14% 12% data from airports. place, coinciding with the school holidays.
Austria 0.90 0.79 0.78
Online/Internet 10% 13% 6% These last five weeks but there are other
Italy 0.87 0.69 0.71
Other 2% 2% 5% short breaks during the year so that travel is Germany 0.86 0.74 0.75
Not specified 4% 2% 12% What Swiss tourists are looking for are cul- possible at a variety of times during the year. France 0.80 0.62 0.56
Source: RMS.
tural activities, such as visits to museums Spain 0.80 0.65 0.61
and monuments, entertainment, shopping White Week (February) Turkey 0.74 0.46 0.75
and clubs, and also activities related to gas- Easter (10 days) Egypt 0.64 0.62 0.66
Booking channels: accommodation tronomy and sport, plus visits to family and October holiday (two weeks)
Average 0.85 0.67 0.69
Total Spain Switzerland friends. Source: RMS 2007.
Phone 75% 18% 38% The main reason for travelling abroad is Number of journeys involving overnight stays in tourist
In person 8% 11% 8% The types of trip most popular with Swiss pleasure (83.1%), followed by business accommodation, by destination (thousands)
By letter 6% 2% 9% travellers are city trips, sun and beach, and (8.4%) and personal reasons. Tourists
Fax 3% 6% 2% Destination Total Year-on-year change
visits to friends and relatives. choose Spain because of the range of activi-
E-mail 13% 16% 10% Switzerland 6,584 4.4%
Online/Internet 12% 23% 7% ties it offers. Germany 1,911 7.7%
Other 2% 1% 1% Type of trip (-2 not important / +2 important) Austria 763 10.2%
Not specified 27% 20% 26% Italy 2,060 7.6%
0.6 France 1,267 8.8%
Source: RMS.
0.4 South-eastern Europe* 844 11.2%
South-western Europe** 860 9.9%
0.2
Rest of Europe 1,000 10.0%
77% of Swiss tourists travel without any kind 0.0 Rest of world 1,280 7.7%
of package, although the use of this option -0.2 Unknown 7 100%
has increased by 12.2%. However, it would
-0.4 Source: BFS.
be more accurate to refer to organised travel * South-eastern Europe: Greece, Turkey, Croatia, Bosnia
-0.6
for individual tourists, without intermediar- Herzegovina, Serbia, Albania, Slovenia, Montenegro, Kosovo,
-0.8 Romania, Bulgaria and Macedonia.
ies, rather than traditional package holidays. ** South-western Europe: Spain, Portugal, Andorra and Gibraltar.
84% travel without the assistance of travel -1.0
agencies, although they may turn to tradi- -1.2
There are no reliable data for the image of
tional agencies for longer, more expensive
s
we y
ss
ts
ts
s
ow
r
es
he
ud
l
n a rip
ur
ac
mi
en
en
Spain or Catalonia in the Swiss market, but it

Fa llne
uis
Sn
To
Ot
St
en d be
Su ity t
He d fa
ev
Ev
trips, which include those to Spain.

Cr
ly
C
an
n
seems that a high percentage of people who

h/
mi
alt
ds
travel have been to Spain, with a good level

Fri
Spain of satisfaction in general.

Average for country
Source: RMS 2007.
markets benelux
belgium
36 37
General
description
of the market
Inma Ballestn
Director of the
GDP in Belgium has risen slightly (+0.1%) Breakdown of journeys by reason for travelling (2010)
Benelux office with per capita GDP at 29,617. Unem-

ployment currently stands at 8.1% and the 12.2%
40.0% Other
Over 700,000 Belgian and Dutch tourists visit increase in the consumer price index was 5.1%
Wellness/health
us each year, a substantial number consid- 1.1%.
9.1% Countryside
ering their small populations. Moreover, the
average length of stay is nearly 10 nights. 515,905 tourists visited Catalonia staying for Routes
Catalonia is visited by 25.6% of Belgian an average of 9 nights. Spending per person 13.7% Getaways/city breaks
and Dutch tourists who come to Spain. Both was 799, generating a total of 411,709,027. Sun and beach
19.9%
beach resorts and the Barcelona brand have
a strong attraction for Belgian and Dutch tour- Source: THR based on European Travel Monitor.
ists who visit us. Mountain areas are not yet
well known to these travellers, making them
a product that should be developed, bearing
in mind that Belgian and Dutch people are
very keen on activity and nature holidays. 16.9% 17.0% 17.1% 17.3% 16.6% 17.0% 17.2% 17.8%
In the years to come our aim should be to

raise awareness of other areas away from
the coast, and to distribute the arrival of tour- Numbers, growth and forecast for visits to main
ists more evenly during the year and over the 2005 2006 2007 2008 2009 2010 2011 (est.) 2015
whole country. At present most tourists come Source: Tourism Economics.
2007 2008 2009 2010 2011 2015 %*
France 8.6 8.6 8.0 8.1 8.4 8.6 +2.9%
with their families during the school holidays.
Total Spain 1.7 1.6 1.6 1.6 1.6 1.7 +7.1%
United Kingdom 1.0 1.0 0.9 1.2 1.1 1.2 +2.4%
Italy 1.0 1.1 1.1 1.2 1.1 1.0 -7%
Catalonia 0.5 0.5 0.4 0.4 0.5

benelux
Internet bookings
33.0%
belgium Non-Internet
67.0%
the netherlands
bookings
luxembourg
0 10 20 30 40 50 60 70 80
Source: Trendrapport, toerisme, recreati en vrije tijd 2010-2011.

markets benelux
belgium
38 39
Trends and
Market Transport
competitive
structure Patterns of demand
Regular weekly flights (summer 2014)
positioning
BRU CH Total Many Belgians use their own cars to travel
Booking via intermediaries still carries some Barcelona 57 7 64 to Catalonia (44%), making tourist routes a The future economic scenario is moderately
weight because of the proliferation of virtual Girona 3 7 10
product for potential growth. Coaches are positive and is not expected to have a nega-
sales platforms such as booking.com, ho- Reus 2 4 6
still an important transport choice (18%). tive effect on peoples leisure travel. The use
tels.com (accommodation), bongo.es and 80
38% come to Catalonia by air, while the fig- of ICT is growing, basically because people
cadeaubox.be (experiences) and collective
ure for Spain as a whole is 68%. are searching for information, making book-
purchasing groups (groupon.be). 58% of Airlines:
bookings are made directly with suppliers. ings and visiting promotional and virtual
Brussels Airlines: 20
Belgian tourists most frequent choice of sales platforms.
Vueling: 23
accommodation is hotels (61%), while they
Belgian tourists visiting Catalonia are mainly Ryanair: 32
are beginning to rent apartments and rural The use of smartphones and tablets is still
attracted by sun and beach (62%) and city Jetair: 5
tourism accommodation (20%) and also like limited.
trips, Barcelona being the third most-popular
campsites (16%).
destination after Paris and London. Last year
Products Climate conditions are a decisive last-minute
Barcelona won the Belgian Travel Award
In Belgium there are five holiday periods factor in Belgian tourists choice of holiday.
2012 for the best European city trip. The main preferences of Belgian tourists vis-
when people can travel, especially during They report that they are committed to sus-
iting Catalonia are for sun and beach holi-
the summer months (July-September), au- tainable tourism models, which allow them to
The main tour operators, Thomas Cook and days (62%) and city trips. There are no data
tumn, Christmas, Carnival and Easter. experience local life. Some travel agencies
Jetair (TUI), have 80% of the market. The for activity and nature holidays, which are
other tour operators are small but very spe- and Internet platforms have sustainability
growing in other markets.
cialised: coach companies, mutual benefit rankings for destinations or are associated
associations, clubs and the like. with platforms such as Travelife.
69% of Belgian travellers use the Internet
and websites to gather information on travel
The main destination for tour operators Catalonias main competitors in this market
and holidays. The websites most frequently
packages is the Costa Brava. are destinations such as the Canary Islands
consulted are, in order, those for accommo-
and Costa del Sol in Spain, and other Medi-
dation, destination, tour operators and trip
organisers, transport, opinion pages (TripAd- 42% of all terranean countries.
visor), travellers photographs and videos on bookings Catalonias best-known brands are the sun
YouTube, and social networks such as Twitter
and Facebook. are made via and beach destinations (Costa Brava and
Costa Daurada) and Barcelona.
intermediaries.
Trips organised via tour operators and travel
agencies catalogues are in second place
(28%), while guidebooks and magazines are
the third most popular option.
40 markets benelux 41
the netherlands
General description Market

of the market structure
France is the most popular destination for The use of intermediaries is significant in the
Dutch GDP is 0.1% down, with per capita Dutch travellers, with 6.5 million visits, while Dutch market, 75% of bookings being made
GDP of 32,882.45, an increase in the con- slightly under a million visited Catalonia. via an intermediary. 23% are via tour opera-
sumer price index of 2.5% and an unemploy- Numbers, growth and forecast for visits to main tors (the number is falling), while a rising
ment rate of 8.2%. destinations (millions) number use other options such as dynamic
653,418 Dutch tourists visited Catalonia, 2007 2008 2009 2010 2011 2015 %* packaging, zoover.nl (currently 52%).
staying here for an average of 8.6 nights. To- France 6.8 6.2 6.2 6.4 6.5 6.8 +5.4%
tal spending was 487,385,264, an average Germany 3.4 3.6 3.7 3.9 3.9 3.9 -0.7% The growth of ICT has led tour operators to
Total Spain 2.5 2.5 2.1 2.2 2.2 2.5 +11.7%
per tourist of 747. overhaul their business model and they now
Italy 1.8 1.9 1.9 1.9 1.9 1.8 -5.2%
Catalonia 0.8 0.7 0.6 0.6 0.8
use online channels to sell directly to the
public. 55% of the market is dominated by
*Cumulative growth forecast for 2011-2015. the main tour operators: TUI, OAD, Thomas
Cook, Sundio Group and Corendon.
Other important agencies in this sector in-

clude clubs like the automobile club ANWB,
The number of Dutch tourists travelling to tour operators specialising in cycling and
Europe has risen since 2009 and it is expected hiking, coach operators, etc. The main des-
to exceed 25 million by 2015. 7 out of every 10 Dutch tourists use the Internet tinations for tour operators are Spain (the
when booking travel. Canary Islands, Costa del Sol and Costa
Breakdown of bookings (2011) Brava), Turkey and Greece.
22.3 23.2 23.3 23.4 23.0 23.7 24.0 25.3
A total of 127 flights come to Catalonia. 100
Internet
of these are to Barcelona, 23 to Girona and
4 to Reus.
Physical travel
agencies
2005 2006 2007 2008 2009 2010 2011 (est.) 2015 AMS RTM EIN MST GRO Total
Phone Barcelona 86 7 7 100
Girona 8 5 5 3 2 23
Reus 4 4
127
Source: Trendrapport, toerisme, recreati en vrije tijd 2010-2011.
The breakdown of airlines operating in Cata-

lonia is as follows:
KLM: 42
Transavia: 42
Ryanair: 14
The most important motives for Dutch Vueling: 28
travellers are sun and beach and city breaks. Arkefly: 1
The most popular products with Dutch trav-
18.3% ellers visiting Catalonia are sun and beach
32.0% Other
(51%) and city trips (31%). Barcelona is a
Nature
5.1%
very popular destination, after Paris and Lon-
Routes don. We know there is great interest in activ-
9.4% Countryside ity and nature holidays, which is therefore an
Getaways/city breaks interesting area for development.
14.3% 20.9% Sun and beach

42 markets benelux 43
the netherlands
Sun and beach

Travel abroad
28%
Travel to Catalonia
51%
Patterns of demand The Dutch are at the forefront in their commit-
City trips 16% 31% 25% of Dutch ment to sustainable tourism, as part of what
Most Dutch tourists travel to Catalonia by air
Activity and nature 30% Not available is often referred to as bio-capitalism. Many
(50%), the remainder coming in private cars tourists share tour operators and travel associations thus
(33%) and by coach (15%). photos and
Today the Internet is a much more important subscribe to the Travelife platform, the WTOs
source of travel information than tour opera- Global Code of Ethics for Tourism and the
Travel to Spain Travel to Catalonia
experiences GreenSeat initiative.
tors and travel agencies. The websites vis-
ited most often are the following (in order, by
Air
Car
79%
13%
50%
33%
during and
type of content): This trend can also be seen in the fact that
Coach 5% 15% after their TripAdvisor will soon be introducing sustain-
Accommodation holidays. ability rankings and the fact that Expedia is
As a lot of Dutch tourists use their cars to
Information about destinations currently compiling information about accom-
travel to Catalonia, there is potential for
User opinions modation with sustainability certification.
promoting routes for visitors.
Ratings (www.zoover.nl, www.vakantiere-
iswijzer.nl, www.tripadvisor.nl, etc.) TUI Netherlands has also announced sustain-
With regard to accommodation, 45% stay in
Travel blogs ability targets for 2015:
hotels and 20% at campsites, a very popular
Facebook
type of holiday in this market. 16% choose
Airlines (Arkefly): reduction of CO2 emissions
to rent accommodation, often using websites
25% of Dutch travellers share their experi- Accommodation: 3,000 hotels available with
such as www.micazu.nl, where Dutch people
ences and photos during and after their trips sustainability accreditation
owning property in tourist destinations offer
and 93% take smartphones or tablets with Staff: specific training to sell and advise cus-
them. Specialist publications still have a cer-
rentals.
Trends and tomers on sustainable holidays
tain importance as a source of travel ideas.
competitive Catalonias main competitors in this market
There are two programmes devoted to travel
Hotel
Travel to Spain
43%
Travel to Catalonia
45%
positioning are sun and beach destinations such as the
on Dutch TV: RTL Travel and Campinglife. Canary Islands, Costa del Sol, Andalusia
Rentals* 22% 16%
Campsites 10% 20%
The Dutch economy is going through a diffi- and Portugal. For activity and nature holidays
cult period, aggravated by a very pessimistic the main competitors are Germany, Austria,
perception of the situation by the population, France and Italy.
Holiday dates vary according to the coun-
which may have a negative impact on peoples
trys three main areas and the arrival of visi-
decision to travel abroad for their holidays. Lastly, the destinations best known to Dutch
tors is spread over summer, autumn, Christ-
The tour operators have reacted to the eco- travellers are the Costa Brava and Costa Dau-
mas and Easter.
nomic situation by starting a price war for all rada, as they identify Catalonia as a sun and
the Mediterranean destinations, which has beach destination, together with Barcelona.
led to restructuring in the sector following
bankruptcies, takeovers, etc. However, the
real growth is in online booking options, such
as: upselling, dynamic packaging, auctions,
OTAs, etc.
Some platforms which operate exclusively

online have achieved a strong position in the
market. They include Weekendjeweg (10.5%
market share), BoelVandaag.nl, VakantiArena.
nl, Vliegtickets.nl, Vliegtarieven.nl and Zoover.
nl.
In the last season there was increased use of

last-minute booking, largely because of three
factors:
Uncertainty about the economy

Aggressive marketing by tour operators
Bad weather
44 markets 45
General description
of the market
Economic data The most important motives for Nordic
travellers are sun and beach and city breaks.
Eullia Cabana We include six countries in the Nordic coun-
Director of the Nordic tries group: Norway, Finland, Sweden, Den-
Countries office mark, Estonia and Iceland. 20.6% 27.7% Other
Nature
751,000 tourists from the Nordic countries Economic data (2011)*IMF estimate for 2012
visited Catalonia in 2013, a 16.6% increase Countryside
6.4%
Per capita GDP Journeys
on 2012 figures. This is a market that has not Population income (million abroad 2010 Holidays abroad
Routes
been seriously affected by the recession and (millions) (USD)* USD) (millions) (millions) 2010 8.6% Getaways/city breaks
daily spending levels remain high (it is the SE 9.4 57,948 354,716 13 10.8 21.3% Sun and beach
NO 4.9 99,665 255,284 7.6 6.0 15.4%
second most important market). People from
FIN 5.3 47,496 185,979 5 3.9
the Nordic countries travel throughout the DK 5.5 57,572 201,739 7 4.3
year and are well-read travellers. For their EST 1.3 16,637 0.9 0.5
summer holidays they are mainly interested ISL 0.3 41,411 *** ***
in sun and beach, with guaranteed good Total 26.6 33.5 25.5
weather. Among Spanish destinations the
Balearic Islands are becoming more popu-
lar, while the Canary Islands are still the top In 2013 the number of tourists rose by 16.6%,
winter destination. while spending increased by 24.6%, making Spain is the top destination for Nordic tourists,
the Nordic countries Catalonias sixth largest with 3.2 million visitors, 20% of whom came to
Interest in Catalonia has grown in recent market. Catalonia.
years, although the Costa Brava and Cos- Numbers, growth and forecast for visits to main
ta Daurada are the brands known by most Average daily expenditure by Nordic tour- destinations (millions)
people. Barcelona (among the top 5 in city ists in Catalonia was 163.18 in 2013, an in-
2007 2008 2009 2010 2011 2015 %*
breaks) is the main entry point for Nordic crease of 12.2% over the previous year, put- Total Spain 3.4 3.6 3.3 3.3 3.2 3.3 +3.2%
tourists. It is one of Catalonias main selling ting this market in third place after Japan and Germany 2.5 2.6 2.5 2.7 2.7 2.7 -0.2%
points and is a leading destination for city the US. Average spending per Nordic tourist United Kingdom 2.1 2.2 2.0 2.0 2.1 2.3 +11.9%
breaks, business and meetings. Golf and rose by 6.8%. The only indicator which fell France 2.2 2.4 2.2 2.1 2.1 2.1 +1.0%
sporting events are two other products to be was the number of nights spent here per vis- Catalonia 0.6 0.6 0.5 0.7 0.6
borne in mind. Increasing numbers of spe- it, down from 6.5 to 6.3. Source: IET and Tourism Economics.
cialist tour operators are promoting products *Cumulative growth forecast for 2011-2015.
such as hiking and wine tourism in Catalonia.
norway
denmark After the drop in 2009, journeys by Nordic
nordic
finland
tourists to European countries have risen and 60% of Nordic tourists book travel online.
by 2015 the number is expected to reach 30
million.
sweden Tourists arriving in European destinations (millions)
iceland 25.7 26.8 27.6 28.5 27.0 27.4 28.1 29.9 Online
estonia
countries
Offline
2005 2006 2007 2008 2009 2010 2011 (est.) 2015
Source: Tourism Economics. Source: Turespaa Tourist Information Office.

46 markets
nordic 47
countries
structure There is 92.4% of Nordic tourists fly to Catalonia on reg-
The Nordic countries are a good market for increasing interest ular flights, 7% come by car, 0.3% by sea and
Trends and
0.3% by train.
tour operators and a number of large groups in all-inclusive competitive
have a strong presence there, including
TUI Nordic, Thomas Cook Nordic and Kuo- trips, luxury They are looking for sun and beach holidays
positioning
and 75% stay in hotels, often opting for all-in-
ni Scandinavia. The market is not greatly travel and unique clusive accommodation at 3- and 4-star estab-
structured by product. The main OTAs (on- The number of regular flights to classic sun
line travel agencies) in the Nordic market experiences. lishments. They have clear preferences for ho-
and beach destinations has increased. Con-
tels which are specifically suitable for families
are eTraveli, which uses 10 different brands sequently, despite the strength of the tour
with children or adults travelling on their own.
in the Nordic countries, Travellink (Odigeo operators, Nordic travellers in search of sun
group), Orbitz Worldwide with the ebookers and beach holidays are increasingly using
Those looking for more active holidays often
brands (NO, FI) and MrJet (DK, SE). regular flights and booking hotel accommo-
Bookings in Spain as a whole rose by 18%. choose golf and stay in 4-star hotels. Business
The biggest increases were in Alicante and MICE travellers choose 4- or 5-star hotels dation via OTAs. The number of bookings in
There are 166 direct flights to Catalonia in Catalonia has remained steady, with a slight
(47%), Gran Canaria (38%), Malaga (25%) and visitors coming for city breaks usually stay
peak season (July) from 20 airports in the increase (2%). There has been a change in
and Majorca (17%). at 4-star hotels.
Nordic countries to two airports in Catalonia the profile of city breaks as families with chil-
(Barcelona and Girona). The number has dren are also travelling to cities in the sum-
There was a marked drop in bookings for Nordic countries, followed by the UK, have the
fallen by 2.3% as a result of the elimination of mer months. There is also a tendency for visi-
Bulgaria, Croatia and Italy. highest level of online sales (55% in 2012). 54%
8 flights by Ryanair. tors to stagger their bookings during the year
of travel agency bookings were made online in
Top destinations booked via the Swedish 2012. Sales via OTAs rose by 22%, while there and not restrict travel to July.
However, in 2014, Vueling, Norwegian Ex-
ticket agency in 2013: was a 15% increase in sales via the portals of
press, SAS and Wow Air (formerly Iceland There has been an increase in all-inclusive
conventional tour operators.
Express) will be increasing the frequency and business trips, luxury travel and unique
of their flights and extending the season on 1. Antalya, Turkey (1)
2. Gran Canaria (2) The main social networks are Facebook and experiences. Smartphones are becoming
their routes. Norwegian is establishing a hub important tools for finding information when
3. London (4) Twitter. Travellers from Nordic countries want
in Barcelona and opening a route from Bar- people make bookings and the use of travel
4. Palma de Mallorca (3) Internet access in their place of accommoda-
celona to Oslo Torp TRF. portals and Internet search facilities has also
5. Bangkok (7) tion.
6. Paris (new) grown.
It is interesting to note that the numbers of
7. Tenerife (6) Business travel is also largely booked online
flights from Norway and Denmark have in- Classic sun and beach destinations continue
8. New York, USA (5) (47% for the Nordic countries as a whole).
creased by 12.5% and 10% respectively. to attract more visitors (Antalya, Gran Canar-
9. Barcelona (new)
10. Crete (8) Use of social networks in Sweden ia Palma, Costa del Sol). Greece continues
The most popular products with Nordic tour- in top position for the summer months. Long-
ists in Catalonia are city breaks (Barcelona distance travel for sun and beach holidays
Facebook: 66%
rose by 3%), MICE, golf and sporting events and city breaks is increasing in popularity.
Twitter: 17%
and sports holidays. MICE groups often For the golf product, Portugal and the Costa
Instagram: 15%
combine their trip with other sub-products, del Sol are our main competitors.
such as wine tourism.
Nordic families have an average of 5 weeks
holidays a year with great flexibility in the Catalonia is well known in the tourism indus-
The most important product in the Nordic try but it does not feature in marketing except
choice of dates. There are very few public
market is sun and beach, as tourists want to for minority products such as hiking and cy-
holidays. School holidays begin in the first half
be sure of good weather during their summer cle tourism. The Barcelona and Costa Brava
of July and end at the beginning of August.
holidays. Our main competitors in providing brands are used.
Schools have a one-week holiday in October
sun and beach holidays are the rest of Spain,
and another in February. July is the most im-
especially Majorca and other destinations on
portant holiday month.
the Mediterranean coast, Greece (up 12%)
and Turkey.
The second most popular product is city

breaks, which have grown in Barcelona, as
mentioned previously.
48 markets 49
General
description
of the market
Russia has the sixth-largest share of world The most important motives for Russian
Josep Maria Perramon travellers are sun and beach and interesting
Director of the Eastern
GDP. Its GDP is 2.022 trillion USD and per
capita GDP is 14,247 USD. Inflation is 6% routes.
Europe office
and unemployment is also 6%. Breakdown of journeys by reason for travelling (2010)
Travel abroad by Russians has increased 19.5% 40.3%

by about 25%. The proportion of Russian In the last season the number of Russians Other
visitors to Catalonia has also risen (to nearly travelling abroad rose by 24%, with 14 mil- Countryside
2.6%
28%) and the outlook for the future is very lion tourists travelling to Turkey as the top Getaways/city breaks
positive. Catalonia remains at the forefront destination, although the number of Russian
Routes
among Spanish destinations, the most popu- tourists fell by 10%. Egypt staged a recovery, 17.9%
Sun and beach
lar products still being sun and beach, Bar- with visitor numbers rising by 30% to nearly
celona and family holidays. 1.9 million. Travel to European destinations 19.7%
and long-stay travel (3 to 4 weeks) grew.
The best known destinations in Catalonia Spain was the fourth most-popular destina-
are the coast, certain towns and cities, such tion and was visited by over 1 million Russian
as Barcelona, Girona, Figueres, Besal and tourists.
Tarragona, and the monastery at Montserrat.
The singers Montserrat Caball and Josep
In 2013 Ukraine attracted nearly half of the total
Carreras are well known, as is Futbol Club number of Russian tourists (over 7 million),
Barcelona. while Catalonia was visited by nearly a million.
Russian tourists travel with their families destinations (millions)
and stay for long periods, around 12 days
Since 2009 the number of journeys to Europe
on average. There has been an increase in 2007 2008 2009 2010 2011 2015 %*
by Russians has grown and it is expected to Ukraine 7.3 7.6 7.0 7.0 7.8 9.4 -20.3%
online booking and new products are emerg- exceed 20 million by 2015. Turkey 2.5 2.9 3.1 3.2 3.3 3.9 +17.8%
ing, such as trips for seniors, medical tour- Finland 2.1 2.3 2.2 2.2 2.3 2.3 +4.1%
ism, gastronomy tourism, etc. Average daily Total Spain 0.4 0.5 0.4 0.6 0.9
spending is high, and most tourists stay in Catalonia 0.2 0.2 0.2 0.3 0.5
20.8
4-star hotels on the sea front. 18.0 17.0 17.7 18.6
15.9
12.6 13.7 *Cumulative growth forecast for 2011-2015.
Catalonia was the first Spanish destination to
promote itself in Russia; there are strong per-
sonal links we should maintain and develop.
2005 2006 2007 2008 2009 2010 2011 (est.) 2015
Although 20% of Russians use online

channels, three-quarters of bookings are still
russia
made via tour operators and offline agencies.
Offline travel
agencies and tour 75%
operators
Online 20%
Directly with
supplier in 5%
destination
Source: Russian Union of Travel Industry.

50 markets
russia 51
Market 16% to 207, including charter flights. There

was also an increase in the number of visi-
Patterns of demand
structure tors to regional destinations and the number
90% of Russian tourists come to Catalonia 60% of Russian
of travellers in the Baltic countries using low-
Tour operators control 80% of the market and cost flights with Wizz Air and Air Baltic.
by air, while the rest travel by coach or using tourists travel
the Europe+coach or fly&drive options.
there has been a rise in the number of online to enjoy sun
agencies, leading to an increase in bookings Products
made in this way, especially in major cities
50% of Russian tourists choose 4-star hotels and beach and
while 5-star hotels on the sea front are espe-
such as Moscow and Saint Petersburg. The most popular products are sun and
cially popular. There is also growing interest holidays with
beach and family holidays (chosen by 60%),
followed by cultural products (18%) and
in holiday apartments. their families.
Transport
wellness (10%), the remaining percentage
Facebook is becoming increasingly popular
There has been an increase in the number corresponding to luxury travel, MICE, sport,
in Russia, together with such local networks
of regular direct flights by Vueling, Aeroflot city breaks, education and trips for young
as odnoklassniki.ru and vkontakte.ru. An
and Transaero, and the passenger capac- people, sports camps, language, courses,
interesting trend is the appearance of last-
ity of the planes has been extended. In high etc.
minute booking websites, such as cheap-
season the number of weekly flights rose by
trip.ru and the like, and websites offering
Television is the most important of the me-
city breaks with online booking. Lastly, travel
dia because of its impact on end consum-
booking sites with loyalty programmes have
ers. Radio and the press help to maintain the
image of our destination and can be used
been set up, such as www.tours.malina.ru. Trends and
to promote more specific products, such as
wellness, shopping and gastronomy. There
School holidays are concentrated in sum- competitive
is a notable increase in the use of social net-
mer, although there is a short autumn break
and the Christmas holidays last until mid-
positioning
works, which has led to the appearance of
January. This is a good period for promoting Generally speaking, there is a tendency for
new professional travel information websites.
snow products, shopping and city breaks. people to make more use of online booking
Schools also close at Easter and there are and to make short trips at any time of year.
several long weekends. There is also growing interest in new products
such as senior, medical and gastronomy tour-
ism. More travellers are also staying in apart-
ments and renting holiday homes.
Catalonias main competitors are Turkey,

Greece and other destinations in Spain.
Knowledge of the coastal area and Barce-
lona is medium-high as is familiarity with the
main cultural destinations such as Girona,
Figueres, Besal, Montserrat and Tarragona.
52 markets 53
General
description
of the market
Ming Li Facts and figures
Director of
the China office The Chinese market is the second largest in There is a positive trend in travel to Europe
the world, with a GDP of 56,884,500 million by Chinese tourists as substantial medium-
and 7.7% growth vs. 2012. 52.6% of the pop- term growth is anticipated with the number of
Catalonia is known to the Chinese as the travellers exceeding 6 million in 2015.
home of Gauds Sagrada Famlia, Camp ulation of China live in urban areas and their
Nou, Art Nouveau and Samaranch, who is average per capita income is 24,565 CNY, a Tourists arriving in European destinations (millions)
seen as a great friend of the Chinese people. year-on-year increase of 12.6%, with a cur-
6.1
Over 100,000 Chinese tourists came to Cata- rency that is rising in value against the US
lonia, Barcelona being the most popular des- dollar. 1USD = CNY6.1932 (+1.93%). 3.7 4.1
2.6 2.9 3.1 2.9 3.2
tination, and they account for 1% of all for-
eign visitors. China is the second country in These figures put China at the top of the
the world in spending on foreign travel. One Globe Shopper Nations list for the first time
2005 2006 2007 2008 2009 2010 2011 (est.) 2015
of our main challenges is to make Catalonia ever in the history of world tourism.
one of the top five European destinations for
this market. 58.5% of Chinese tourists who travelled to
Spain last year visited Catalonia, mostly stay-
The profile of a typical Chinese tourist is ing in Barcelona, a city which continues to
a woman aged 18 to 45. She has been to consolidate its position as a destination for
incentive trips organised by large compa- Russia is the most popular destination for
university and usually travels in a group but Chinese tourists visiting Europe, with 1.2
informs herself well before travelling and en- nies.
million visitors. All markets have experienced
joys helping to plan the trip. New technolo- substantial growth.
gies must therefore be taken into account in
our future plans for this market. destinations (millions)
2007 2008 2009 2010 2011

It is interesting to note that the Catalonia/Bar-
Andalusia 13.0 11.6 11.1 11.5 11.8
a combination is giving good results and Catalonia 9.9 9.8 9.5 9.7 10.0
FCB is undoubtedly seen as number one in Castile and Len 10.1 10.1 8.9 8.7 9.0
world football. Valencia 7.0 7.3 7.3 7.4 7.4
Castile-La Mancha 1.4 1.4 1.1 1.0 1.0
china
Half of the bookings made are via tour
operators or offline travel agencies, while 30%
of Chinese travellers use online channels.
Offline travel agencies

and tour operators 50%
Online 30%
Directly with supplier in

destination 15%
No previous booking 5%
54 markets
china 55
Market Products
structure The product most in demand by Chinese
Patterns of demand
tourists travelling to Spain is an organised Most Chinese visitors to Spain come by air, The most
tour taking in the whole country, with 2/3
Intermediaries
nights spent in Barcelona. The most popu-
using traditional airlines. popular product
Although there has been considerable growth lar routes are those focusing on architecture, Holiday makers tend to prefer 3- and 4-star is tours.
in the percentage of individual tourists who wine and gastronomy, golf and photography. hotels, while for meeting tourism 4- and
travel, an important feature of the Chinese
5-star hotels are usually chosen, with a
market is the role of tour operators and travel Barcelona is an important destination for preference for hotel chains.
agencies as intermediaries who process visa incentive trips. Incentive trips organised by
applications and organise group travel. large companies usually include an average As a result of censorship, social networks
of 4 nights at hotels in Barcelona. such as Facebook, Twitter and YouTube do
The following online agencies are increasing
not reach the Chinese mainland market. In
their market share: Crip.com, Lvmama.com Lastly, cruises are another option. They are the first quarter of 2013 the Catalan Tour-
and Tuniu.com. concentrated around the spring holidays and ist Board activated a weibo profile on the
during the school holidays in summer. Tencent and Sina portals. The first app in
Transport Chinese for mobiles with the name Top 10
China is the worlds largest Internet user (618 Catalonia is now available from the iPhone
Air China has announced the route Beijing- million), with market penetration of 45.8%, App Store. It was launched on 15 January
Vienna-Barcelona starting in May 2014 with and it has the worlds largest number of mo-
four flights each week, although current bile phone users (1.112 billion, 232 million of
2014. Trends and
visitor numbers would justify the creation
of a Barcelona-Shanghai air link. Currently
whom have 3G). The longest holiday periods in 2014 will be competitive
the only direct flight from China to Spain is The dominant Internet browser is still Baidu.
the Spring Festival Golden Week, from 30
January to 5 February, and National Day
positioning
the Beijing-Madrid route, operated by Air com, and its subsidiary, QuNar, is the leader Golden Week, from 1 to 7 October. According to the WTO, 100 million Chinese
China, with four flights per week. The hubs in the travel information sector. The main In-
used most extensively are Paris, Amsterdam, ternet portals for tourism are sina.com and people are expected to travel in 2020. They
Frankfurt, Helsinki, Istanbul and Dubai. sohu.com, and the most important TV chan- usually travel in groups, although the number
nel is CCTV. of individual travellers is increasing. Europe
continues to compete with the United States
and Australia as a long-distance destination.
Within Europe, Spain is the sixth most-visited
country, after France, Germany, the United
Kingdom, Italy and Switzerland.
The Catalonia brand is well known to Chinese

tourism professionals, followed at a consider-
able distance by the Costa Brava. Catalonia
is one of the few European regions that main-
tain bilateral relations with China. Barcelona
is twinned with Shanghai, and Catalonia with
Canton. FCB and the 1992 Olympic Games
boosted the Barcelona brand among profes-
sionals and the general public.
56 markets 57
General
description of
the market
Singapore is an open economy which is There is a positive trend in travel to Europe
David Mir by tourists from Singapore, as substantial
Director of the
strongly influenced by other economies, and
has accordingly felt the effects of the euro- medium-term growth is anticipated with the
Singapore office
zone crisis. In 2012 the Singapore economy number of travellers exceeding half a million in
grew by only 1.3% of GDP, a small increase 2015.
In 2013 the number of tourists coming to
Catalonia from Singapore was nearly 35,000. which contrasts with the growth achieved in Tourists arriving in European destinations (thousands)
Demand is expected to grow, geared to light the previous years (6% in 2011 and 15% in 505.3
cultural experiences, shopping and making 2010). 364.1 61.6 371.9 406.9
275.3 297.1 274.2
interesting gastronomic discoveries. Growth
is anticipated in Mediterranean cruises and Although there was a slight contraction in the
in incentive trips. early months of 2013, it is hoped that the Sin-
gapore economy will recover so that growth 2005 2006 2007 2008 2009 2010 2011 (est.) 2015
The level of spending by this market is con- in GDP at the end of 2013 will be around 2%,
siderably higher than that of travellers from with 2% unemployment. Source: Tourism Economics.
European countries. Average spending per

visitor is around 2,300. In 2012 the euro lost about 20% of its value
against the Singapore dollar. This makes Eu-
Tourists from Singapore continue to choose rope 20% more competitive as a destination
4- and 5-star hotels located as centrally as for the Singapore market. France is the most popular destination with
possible and near the main shopping areas. tourists from Singapore, receiving 150,000
They like to combine Catalan gastronomy The number of tourists from Singapore vis- visitors, while about 25,000 come to Catalonia.
with Asian food. iting Catalonia last year was 29,590, an in- Numbers, growth and forecast for visits to main
crease of 13% over the previous year. destinations (thousands)
Barcelona is an essential part of the Euro- 2007 2008 2009 2010 2011 2015 %*
pean capitals route followed by tourists from Catalonia continues to attract the largest France 91.3 132.5 137.3 138.5 150.5 194.2 +12.1%
Singapore and it is hoped that in future it will percentage of tourists from Singapore visit- Switzerland 22.0 25.3 41.0 41.0 15.0 58.6 -36.3%
become an important destination for visitors ing Spain. Catalonia 11.7 26.5
Italy 24.4 31.2 28.7 20.2 22.2 22.8 +22.6%
learning Spanish. Poland 4.3 5.2 6.6 12.8 14.9 17.5 +17.5%

The main challenge for Catalonia is to foster *Cumulative growth forecast for 2011-2015.
the loyalty of tourists who have been to Bar-
celona and who may be interested in visiting
other parts of Catalonia. It would also be very
valuable to position Catalonia as a centre for
unique and luxury experiences and add oth-
er points in Catalonia to tours linked to the
main Mediterranean cruises. Half of the bookings made are via tour
singapore
operators or offline travel agencies, while
20% of travellers from Singapore use online
channels.
Offline travel agencies

and tour operators 75%
Online 20%
Directly with supplier in

destination 5%
58 markets
singapore 59
Market Sections on travel and gastronomy feature

in most of the main local newspapers in Sin-
Our main competitors for the cultural discov-
ery/cultural routes product are Japan, the
structure gapore, especially The Straits Times, The United States, the United Kingdom, France
Business Times and Today, which frequently and Italy.
75% of Singaporeans use intermediaries contain articles and special reports on desti-
and offline agencies to make holiday book-
ings, 20% use online channels and only 5%
nations in different parts of the world.
Trends and Malaysia, China, the United Kingdom and
France have good market shares for breaks
book holidays directly with service providers. competitive in connection with major sporting events, an
Approximately 300 travel agents among

positioning area Catalonia also hopes to develop.
the 900 members of the National Associa- Destinations on the routes of north and south-
tion of Travel Agents of Singapore (NATAS), The governments monetary policy and the east Asian cruises, the Nordic countries and
of which the ACT is an associate member,
sell trips to Europe and these are therefore of
Patterns of demand exchange rate will allow Europe to become
more competitive as a destination, encour-
the Caribbean are the main competitors for
Mediterranean cruises, where Barcelona ap-
special interest to Catalonia. aging more travellers to choose it for their pears in all the programmes marketed in Sin-
100% of visitors from Singapore travel to Cat-
holidays. gapore.
alonia by air, either directly to Barcelona or
Transport via other European capitals or the main cities
Better and more frequent connections be- In Spain the destinations that compete with
in the Persian Gulf.
Singapore Airlines is still the only south-east tween Singapore and Barcelona and links Catalonia are Madrid, Andalusia, Segovia,
Asian airline to fly directly from Singapore to via other European capitals and cities in Avila and Toledo, although they also comple-
They appreciate the European high-speed
Barcelona, with three direct flights to Barce- the Persian Gulf suggest that the market will ment Catalonia as a destination.
rail network, which may encourage Singa-
lona every day. There are also two with tech- continue to grow, possibly even by double
porean tourists to come to Catalonia by train
nical stops in Milan. Improvements in the figures. Barcelona is the Spanish destination which
from other EU countries.
connections and frequency offered by Qatar has best consolidated its position. La Roca
Airways and Emirates, together with flights Business and meeting tourism is increasingly del Valls (La Roca Village) also has a cer-
Regarding accommodation, Singaporean
by Finnair, Turkish Airlines and Lufthansa, open to European destinations, especially tain positioning together with Montserrat and
tourists choose 4- and 5-star hotels. They
provide other links between Singapore and for incentive trips. Most trips of this kind take excursions to Catalonias main wineries.
must be centrally located and near the main
Catalonia, in addition to direct flights. place in September, October and November.
shopping districts.
Apart from the Asian market our competi- Futbol Club Barcelona is also one of the im-
Singapore Airlines is waiting for approval tors are the middle east and some European ages Singaporeans have when one speaks
Tourists travelling on a more restricted budg-
from the Spanish Civil Aviation Authority for countries such as Germany. about Catalonia.
et do not rule out 3-star accommodation.
an extension of its service to seven flights a
week, providing a connection to So Paulo
80% of the population have Internet access.
via Barcelona, which would establish a daily
This figure places Singapore among the
service between Singapore and Barcelona.
leading countries in terms of Internet use.
Products There is a high level of confidence in the In-

ternet as a means of obtaining information
25% of all tourists from Singapore continue
and making travel purchases, especially
to choose Catalonia mainly for light cultural
tickets, and its use is growing. The compa-
products, with gastronomic experiences.
nies recording most online sales are Tiger
The second most-popular option is tours/cul-
Airways, Qantas, Singapore Airlines and
tural visits + shopping, chosen by 60%, and
AirAsia, which have now been joined by
the third choice is Mediterranean cruises,
Cheaptickets.
which account for about 15%.
In Singapore travel continues to follow the
Shopping for the leading European fashion
Chinese calendar, with greater volume at the
brands is a compulsory activity for Singa-
end of May, June, November and December,
porean tourists visiting Europe. In Catalonia
coinciding with local school holidays.
they also like to combine eating Catalan food
with Asian meals, to which they are more ac-
customed.
60 markets 61
General
description
of the market
Inflation in the United States is currently Over 50% of American tourists use online
Cristina Gargallo channels when booking travel.
Director of
1.7%, GDP grew by 2.5% in the first quarter
the United States office of 2013 and per capita GDP is 49,800 USD. Breakdown of bookings (2011)
Unemployment is currently 8.1%. The ex-
568,045 American tourists visited us last change rate is 1 = USD1.30.
year, 3.6% of all foreign arrivals. Most go to Online
Barcelona. The United States is Catalonias Americans made 60.7 million trips in 2012,
ninth-largest outbound market but the fourth 53% of which were to Canada and Mexico
in terms of spending (1.005 billion, down and 47% to other destinations. 11 million Offline travel
agencies and tour
9.2% from 2012). This market is, therefore, of trips were to Europe, 4% more than in 2011. operators
great interest to us.
There is not a single profile for American tour- Source: Catalan Tourist Board CPT, based on Office of Travel and
Tourism Industries figures.
ists but many consumers fall into two clearly
differentiated groups: the baby boomers and
the millennials (aged 18 to 30).
CATALONIA in the American market:
Both know the Barcelona brand well and ei- The number of American tourists travelling to
what does it include?
ther organise a trip to visit it or come to the Europe has risen since 2009 and it is expected Barcelona: pre-/post-cruise stays
city in the course of a cruise. Unfortunately, to reach 22 million by 2015. Barcelona: stage in grand tour of Spain
Barcelona city and day trips:
they do not know Catalonia and do not iden- Tourists arriving in European destinations (millions) Costa Brava - Figueres
tify it with anything in particular. They often Wine tourism
use Barcelona to refer to the whole of Cata- 21.9
19.7 20.1 18.5
lonia. We are thus faced with the great chal- 17.9 17.5 18.2 18.1
lenge of raising awareness of our country in Main challenges for the immediate future:
a market that places great value on heritage,
Maintain cruises.
history, gastronomy and wine, subjects of Consolidate air links against a background
great interest in the United States at this time, 2005 2006 2007 2008 2009 2010 2011 (est.) 2015 of falling capacity.
Most important challenge for the future:
as is the search for unique experiences that increasing recognition of the Catalonia brand
put visitors in touch with local culture. and positioning it more effectively.
France is the most popular destination for
united
American travellers, with 3.4 million visitors.
Catalonia was visited by about half a million
American tourists.
2007 2008 2009 2010 2011 2015 %*
states
France 3.4 3.3 3.0 3.0 2.9 3.4 +16.8%
Italy 2.4 2.3 2.3 2.5 2.4 2.7 +11.0%
Germany 2.1 2.0 1.9 2.1 2.1 2.5 +18.4%
Total Spain 1.0 1.1 1.1 1.1 1.0 1.1 +8.0%
Catalonia 0.4 0.4 0.4 0.5 0.5

62 markets
united states 63
Market Patterns of demand Trends and

structure Americans The vast majority (95%) come by air, while
competitive
This is a market with few intermediaries. Only normally book 4% arrive by car and only 1% by ship or train. positioning
15% of those visiting Europe had bought a travel 90 days 76% of US tourists stay in hotels or similar The proposed trip is decided 111 days before
package. The main groups/consortia of
travel agents, by number of associates are before they establishments, 6% have free accommoda- the date of departure. The average length of
tion and 9.7% use other types of accommo- stay is 18.2 days and tourists visit an average of
vacation.com, Travelsavers, Ensemble, Vir- leave. dation. 1.5 countries during one trip.
tuoso, Nest and Signature. By turnover (not
only US business) the largest companies
78.3% use the Internet and Google is the The average annual income of an American
are: American Express; Expedia; Carlson
most popular search engine, followed by family who travels to Europe is $144,534. The
Wagonlit Travel; Priceline; BCD Travel; Hogg
Bing (Microsoft), Yahoo, Ask and AOL. 166 average age for men is 49 and for women it is
Robinson Group; Orbitz Worldwide.
million Americans are on Facebook. Surfing 47.
using mobile phones increased by 50 min-
utes per day (+28.9% vs. 2010). The greatest The most popular activities when travelling to
Transport growth in number of phone and tablet apps Europe are: tourist visits and shopping, followed
is in those related to travel. 60% of users by visits to historical sites, museums and art gal-
City Airport Company
have downloaded one or have made search- leries, small towns and rural areas.
New York Newark United Airlines / Continental
New York JFK International Airport American Airlines
es concerning a trip.
New York JFK International Airport Delta Demand for the following products is increas-
Miami Miami International Airport American Airlines Potential tourists use the Internet to find infor- ing:
Philadelphia Philadelphia International Airport US Airways mation about a trip (62%), read the opinions
Atlanta Hartsfield-Jackson Atlanta International Airport Delta Airlines
of other travellers (42%), watch videos (31%) Multi-generation holidays: family groups with
Charlotte Douglas International Airport US Airways
and post comments about their trip (16%). widely varying ages.
Cruises: river and thematic cruises
Americans normally have 10 to 15 days There is growing interest in experience tour-
holiday entitlement each year but they of- ism and authentic travel.
Products ten take only 10 and lose one or two. Except
New Years Day, the 4th of July, Thanksgiving The most important foreign destinations for
The main priorities for American tourists are
and Christmas, public holidays are moved to Americans are Mexico (20.6 million tourists) and
city tourism, cultural products, cruises, gas-
Mondays, giving them more time to travel. Canada (11.8 million). Europe was visited by 11
tronomy and wine tourism, and meeting tour-
ism. A second important group of products million.
includes LGBT tourism, language courses
and Jewish tourism. The European destinations most often chosen
are:
Printed media are losing their influence while
cable TV and Internet are growing, especial- Italy: 73%
ly via mobile phones in the case of the latter. United Kingdom: 70%
France: 63%
The consumer travel magazines with the larg- Spain: 55%
est circulation are: Ireland: 52%
1. National Geographic 4,493,024
2. Via Magazine 2,740,435 The Barcelona brand is well known in the Ameri-
3. AAA Living 2,469,830 can market but there is relatively little knowledge
4. AAA Going Places 2,404,121 of the Catalonia brand. Outside Barcelona, the
5. Sunset 1,259,750 most popular destinations are Girona, Figueres,
6. Where Magazine 1,191,152 Costa Brava, Montserrat and El Peneds.
7. Travel + Leisure 996,217
8. Midwest Living 989,424
9. National Geographic International 883,357
10. Cond Nast Traveler 810,713
11. National Geographic Traveler 742,575
12. Arthur Frommers Budget Travel 680,097
markets south america
argentina
64 65
General description
of the market
Inflation is one of the main problems in Ar- Total spending by Argentinians travelling
gentina: according to the National Institute abroad in 2007 was 3,826.1 million dollars,
Joan Romero of Statistics and Censuses (INDEC) it was 27% more than 2006 and 54% more than
Director of the South 9.5% in 2011, but private consultants set the 2004. 24% of all spending was in Europe.
America office figure at nearly 23%. GDP in Argentina grew
by 8.8% in 2011. At present the exchange
Over 5 million tourists travelled outside South rate is between 5.80 and 5.85, although it It is the most visited destination not border-
America last season. Argentina is Catalonias depends on fluctuations in the value of the ing on Argentina and accounts for 33% of all
second-largest outbound market in South dollar against the euro. Per capita GDP is journeys. In 2008 Argentine tourists spent
America, with nearly 100,000 tourists visiting 17,400. 3,554.23 million euros, 16.5% more than in
us. Tourism from Brazil is growing exponen- 2007. In 2009, however, spending fell by
tially each year. Unemployment in 2010 was 7.3%, an im- 2.5% to 3,464.3 million euros. Estimated
provement on the preceding years. The spending for 2011 is 4,246.42 million euros,
South American tourists tend to have high numbers of travellers from Argentina arriving an increase of 13.2% on the figure for 2010.
purchasing power and opt for quality tourism in Europe and forecasts for the future are as
which is differentiated and personalised. The follows: Argentina was Spains nineteenth-largest in-
Barcelona brand is well known and visitors ternational market in 2011, after Japan and
are showing interest in extending their stay Brazil. In 2011 the number of Argentine tour-
by spending time on the Costa Brava. They Tourists arriving in European destinations ists visiting Spain grew by 8.3% to a record
are also interested in sport (especially Bara level of 299,396. Spain accounted for 5.6%
Destination 2005 2006 2007 2008 2009 2010
and the teams Brazilian players) and in the Europe 365.84 439.63 413.92 457.68 458.53 601.82 of the Argentine outbound market.
cultural field they are familiar with Picasso, 2011 2012 2013 2014 2015
Salvador Dal and the Sagrada Famlia. Trav- 561.72 529.26 525.08 523.58 531.18 Foreign travel by Argentine tourists varies
el is a leisure activity with a high social sta- Data and forecasts last updated on 5 April, 2011, Fixed: Visits/ considerably because of the countrys eco-
tus and indicative of personal prestige, apart Nights = (1000), Facts = Value.
nomic situation. Since 2007 there has been
from being entertaining and bringing cultural a rising trend in the number of Argentines
benefits. travelling abroad (from 4,391,453 in 2007
For other destinations, the figures are as fol- to 6,686,469 in 2011). Spending by the
For these travellers Catalonia is a destination lows: 6,686,469 travellers visiting Europe in 2011
with a Mediterranean life style and it is seen totalled 4,246 million euros.
as a place where they can buy international
Volume, forecast and growth
brands at more affordable prices. 86.2% of those travelling abroad were from
Destination Uruguay Brazil Chile USA Spain
the Buenos Aires region, 34.1% being from
2005 -0.1% 7.6% 5.2% 12.6% 23.4%
2006 -12.0% -6.0% 12.8% 12.3% -17.4% the city itself.
2007 -6.9% -1.2% 11.1% 25.9% 7.4%
2008 12.9% 10.4% 14.2% 19.2% -2.2% The most popular destinations in Spain are
2009 12.2% 19.0% 15.4% 12.0% 39.0%
Madrid, which was visited by 128,180 tour-
2010 10.2% -15.3% -9.6% 22.4% -14.6%
2011 -0.4% -5.1% 4.1% 9.6% -10.6%
ists, and Catalonia, with 93,297 tourists. An-
dalusia and Galicia were in third and fourth
south
2012 2.4% -5.1% 2.1% 3.7% -5.3%
2013 3.0% 1.2% 3.6% 4.4% -4.3% place respectively. Catalonia and Madrid ac-
2014 2.2% 13.6% 0.9% 1.7% -4.3% count for 70% of the tourists coming to Spain.
2015 3.9% -0.8% 1.5% 3.4 % -1.6%
In 2011 Catalonia was visited by 64.7% more
tourists than in 2010.
america argentina
brazil
markets south america
argentina
66 67

structure Spain is a
Transport
very attractive
Purchases of tour packages have been de-
clining since 2005. In 2007 there was an in-
The majority of tourists (94%) came to Spain destination for Trends and
crease in trips organised by third parties.
by air, while 5% came by road. The most
popular type of accommodation was better-
meeting tourism. competitive
90% of Argentine tourists arrange their trips
class hotels, chosen by 39.4%. The second positioning
choice was accommodation with relatives
via travel agencies, although Internet is also
and friends, followed by 1-, 2- and 3-star ho- The average length of stay for Argentine tour-
used extensively as a source of information.
tels. ists in Spain is 13.4 nights. 30.9% of visitors
spend from 4 to 7 nights in Spain, followed
Products by those who spend 8 to 15 nights and then
Type of accommodation chosen by Argentine
those who spend over 15 nights. The aver-
In 2011 the most popular tour packages tourists in Spain
0.6%
age length of stay has fallen slightly, com-
were air-land packages to Madrid or Barce-
pared with previous years.
lona, visiting cities in Spain or Europe, city 52.3%
47.1%
tours in Madrid or Barcelona, and Mediter- Main reason for visit
Many tourists choose beach and mountain
ranean cruises sailing from Barcelona. Unspecified
Personal
locations and spas for a restful holiday. Oth-
Non-hotel
ers prefer entertainment, learning about oth-
Spains main attractions are cultural and city Hotels and similar Work / business
establishments / trade fairs / er cultures and places, etc.
tourism, Barcelona being one of the destina- conferences Bookings for foreign travel used to be made
tions most in demand. Business tourism and Pleasure / holiday well in advance (1 to 6 months). There
major event tourism in Spain also attract this Source: IET. Survey Movimientos Tursticos en Fronteras (Frontur).
is, however, a tendency not to book so far
market. Other
ahead and a good number plan their trips as
In the case of Spain, many tourists (52%) 0 10 20 30 40 50 60 70 80 they go. Bookings are usually now made 30
The most decisive factors in the choice of
looked at the Internet when planning their 2011 to 45 days in advance.
destination are travel for pleasure, associ- 2010
trips and 41.3% of these made online book-
ated with the beach, mountain holidays and
ings. In the case of Spain the opinion of rela- Source: IET. Survey Movimientos Tursticos en Fronteras (Frontur). Major events play an important part in the
spas, followed by cultural tourism, especially
tives, friends and acquaintances is very im- choice of destination: in 2010 there was a
in Europe. The products most in demand by
portant, although, as with other destinations, considerable increase in the direct purchase
Argentine travellers in Europe are air tickets,
the Internet and travel agencies are useful of tour operators packages that included
air-land tours visiting various European cit-
sources of information. Social networks are a tickets for football matches involving both
ies, and cruises (these have become more
point of contact, the most widely used being Futbol Club Barcelona and Real Madrid.
popular than in previous years). In Catalonia
Facebook, the country being the networks
there is demand for air-land tours starting in
sixth largest user; Twitter is ninth by market Spain is still the top destination in Europe
Barcelona, high-speed train travel and Medi-
penetration. for Argentine tourists but Italy, France and
terranean cruises sailing from Barcelona.
Germany compete with us. The main com-
The first quarter of the year is when most Ar- petitors outside Europe are the United States
gentinians travel, coinciding with summer in and Canada, followed by Chile and the other
Argentina. However, in the case of Europe, South American countries. Asian countries
the most popular time to travel is the fourth are growing rapidly in popularity.
quarter and the first quarter is when there are
fewest visitors.
In Spain, 64% of Argentine tourists go on cul-

tural visits, 22% go shopping and 13% are
interested in activities related to gastronomy.
Barcelona is among the most important des-
tinations for cultural tourism. Spain is also a
very attractive destination for meeting tour-
ism.
68 markets south america 69
brazil
In 2011, 5.4 million Brazilians travelled
General description abroad, an increase of 2% on the figure for Market
of the market 2010. 718,948 Brazilian tourists visited Spain structure
in 2011, 69.9% more than in 2010. Catalonia
Brazil is the worlds seventh largest econo- was visited by 136,106 Brazilians in 2011, a Only 25% of Brazilian tourists contract pack-
my and it is expected to have climbed two year-on-year increase of 59.08%. ages when travelling to Spain. Organised
places by 2016. GDP has an average annual travel is giving way to independent travel and
growth of 5%. The population is nearly 200 Spending by Brazilian tourists continues to tourists only visit travel agencies to deal with
million, with an average age of 29. grow in line with the trend in recent years. specific issues or to obtain more specialised
In 2011, it was 39,979.1 million reais. Fash- information. In Spain only 16% of Brazilian
The areas generating most tourism are the ion and clothing are the items on which they tourists opted for package tours.
south of the country (Paran, Santa Catarina spend most, followed by electronics.
and Mato Grosso do Sul) and the south-east There is a direct flight between Barcelona
(So Paulo, Rio de Janeiro, Minas Gerais and The leading destinations in Europe are Spain and So Paulo which runs daily except on
Esprito Santo). In these regions we find Bra- and Portugal, followed by Italy and France. Sundays.
zils richest states, which account for 75% of In Spain the most popular destinations are
the countrys wealth. So Paulo is the most the Autonomous Community of Madrid and Singapore Airlines - direct FLIGHTS
prosperous, with 33.9% of the countrys total Catalonia, both of which saw growth of over SO PAULO, GUARULHOS AIRPORT - BARCELONA-EL PRAT AIRPORT
GDP, followed by Rio de Janeiro and Paran. 50%. In the first quarter of 2012, year-on-year Route Flight Day Departure Arrival
So Paulo - BCN SQ67 Monday 17:40 9:05 (next day)
In 2010 per capita GDP was 10,650 USD, growth in Catalonia was greater than in Ma-
So Paulo - BCN SQ67 Thursday 17:40 9:05 (next day)
with falling unemployment due to economic drid, a difference which has been observed So Paulo - BCN SQ67 Saturday 17:40 9:05 (next day)
growth; in 2012 the working population grew in the first quarter of all the years 2007 to BCN - So Paulo SQ68 Monday 09:00 16:10
by 1.9% compared to 2011. 2012. BCN - So Paulo SQ68 Thursday 09:00 16:10
BCN - So Paulo SQ68 Saturday 09:00 16:10
The number of Brazilian tourists arriving in

Europe is shown below:
Products
Tourists arriving in European destinations The activities most often contracted by Bra-
Destination 2004 2005 2006 2007 2008 2009
zilians are travel and excursions within the
Europe 982.21 1,250.53 1,516.52 1,840.82 1,999.03 2,302.03 country, spa packages, tours, cultural visits
2010 2011 2012 2013 2014 2015 in cities and cruises. There is growing inter-
2,302.71 2,721.05 3,100.16 3,274.77 3,278.95 3,234.49 est in cultural and gastronomy tourism, relax-
Data and forecasts last updated on 5 April, 2011, Fixed: Visits/ ing holidays, sport and adventure travel and
Nights = (1000), Facts = Value. nature tourism.
Destinations and forecast growth:
Numbers and forecast growth

Destination USA Argentina France Uruguay Spain
2005 26% 8% 44% 5% 21%
2006 8% 26% 11% 16% 16%
2007 22% 30% 45% 25% -2%
2008 20% 17% 13% 5% 10%
2009 16% 11% -3% 12% 10%
2010 28% 18% 15% 24% 22%
2011 10% 19% 13% 11% 22%
2012 9% 16% 10% 2% 17%
2013 7% 10% 3% 1% 7%
2014 0% 7% -2% 0% 1%
2015 -1% 6% -3% 0% -1%
70 markets south america 71
brazil
Patterns of demand online sales, although most travellers still

shop in person.
Most people arrive in Spain by air. Only a few
come by road, although in recent years the Apart from these options most people con-
number has risen. sult guidebooks and travel agents and, to a
lesser extent, travel magazines and televi-
sion reports.
Number of tourists visiting Spain (thousands) by access
mode, 2006-2011
Brazilians have 20 days holiday a year, nor-
2007 2008 2009 2010* 2011 1st Q 2012* mally in January and July, coinciding with
TOTAL the winter and summer school holidays.
Total 252,061 226,110 227,731 241,094 360,006 80,059
Year-on-year chge. (%) -1.8 -10.3 0.7 5.9 49.2 27.7
AIRPORT Most Brazilian tourists come from the wealth-
Total 183,677 173,670 196,185 210,971 321,454 64,635 ier classes and they have a wide range of
Year-on-year chge. (%) 29.8 -5.4 13.0 7.5 52.4 9.9 interests, including art, culture, nature and
ROAD
adventure. Sun and beach are not of great
Total 66,157 50,228 29,295 25,252 29,865 14,105
Year-on-year chge. (%) -41.5 -24.1 -41.7 -13.8 18.2 373.3
interest when they travel abroad, as they can
OTHER enjoy them in Brazil.
Total 308 2,215 2,251 4,871 8,688 1,319
Year-on-year chge. (%) -29.0 -0.6 1.6 116.4 74.2 39.7 In the case of Europe, the main reason for
Source: Frontur (*provisional data). travelling is holidays and pleasure, followed
by work and business and lastly visits to
The most important item of expenditure for friends and relations. In Catalonia, holidays
Brazilian travellers is accommodation, 80.1% and pleasure are still the main reason, but
of tourists paying for this item in Spain in business tourism, which was previously in
2011. Accommodation and air travel are the second place, has fallen slightly in impor-
products consumed most extensively. tance.
Trends and
Brazilian tourists immerse themselves in competitive There
Number of tourists visiting Spain (thousands) by type of
accommodation, 2006-2011
the culture of the country they visit, look for
unique experiences and prefer quality to
positioning has been
quantity. considerable
2007 2008 2009 2010* 2011 1st Q 2012* The average length of stay in Spain is 4 to 7
TOTAL
nights, although over the last year there has
Total 252,061 226,110 227,731 241,094 360,006 80,059
been a substantial increase in stays of 8 to
growth in
Year-on-year chge. (%) -1.8 -10.3 0.7 5.9 49.2 27.7
Hotels and similar
Number of tourists visiting Spain (thousands) by main
reason for travelling, 2006-2011
15 days and a decrease in short stays of 1 to online sales.
establishments 3 nights, reflecting the fact that the country
Total 163,339 163,776 145,038 186,267 288,424 67,658 has positioned itself more strongly as a sin-
Year-on-year chge. (%) -13.4 0.3 -11.4 28.4 54.8 38.5 2007 2008 2009 2010* 2011 1st Q 2012*
Non-hotel TOTAL gle destination rather than part of a circuit.
Total 88,721 62,100 81,829 64,623 71,544 12,401 Total 252,061 226,110 227,731 241,094 360,006 80,059
Year-on-year chge. (%) 30.3 -30.1 31.8 -32.2 30.8 -9.8 Year-on-year chge. (%) -1.8 -10.3 0.7 5.9 49.2 27.7 Travel packages are being displaced by in-
Pleasure / holiday
Unspecified dependent travel and tourists only visit travel
Total 236 865 203 28 Total 183,062 160,844 165,529 199,146 285,909 67,436
Year-on-year chge. (%) -9.1 -12.1 2.9 20.3 43.57 31.10 agencies to deal with specific issues or to
Year-on-year chge. (%) 266.5 -74.5 -83.7
Work / business obtain more specialised information. In Spain
Source: Frontur (*provisional data).
Total 28,788 32,383 27,653 17,280 26,884 4,989 only 16% of Brazilian tourists opted for pack-
Year-on-year chge. (%) 15.7 12.5 -14.6 -37.5 55.6 29.9 age tours. Prices are important when choos-
Personal / family
Brazil is the largest online market in South ing a destination but cultural and linguistic
Total 29,055 17,243 22,979 16,425 22,165 4,507
America, with approximately 80 million us- Year-on-year chge. (%) 29.8 -40.7 33.3 -28.8 34.9 21.8 proximity carry more weight.
ers. Information about travel and bookings is Other
obtained from the Internet, although the opin- Total 11,157 6,258 3,616 1,897 18,193 289 Spain is sold as a single product and tours
ions of relatives, friends and acquaintances Chge. (year-on-year) 36.9 0.6 -42.2 -74.5 859 -60.4
round the country are on offer or tours of
are very important and may be decisive. The Source: Frontur (*provisional data). Spain as part of a European tour. Barcelo-
number of queries posted on social networks na is among the cities most often visited in
and blogs has increased compared to previ- Spain and in Europe. Many tours use Spain
ous years. There is considerable growth in as a starting or finishing point.
72 products vs. markets 73
73
Catalonia is a country with a wide variety of resources and at-
tractions. It has unique, highly valued cultural resources, icons
with a great reputation, excellent tourism infrastructures, nu-
merous urban destinations with character in very different
settings and a series of very beautiful landscapes, all giving
rise to a wide range of experiences.
When matching products and markets we need to focus on
how attractive and competitive the product category is, geo-
graphical proximity, and the stage in the products life in the
case of Catalonia as a destination.
products
vs. markets
The markets at the forefront in the growing

demand for the sun and beach product are
catalan
Germany and the United Kingdom, which
generated 78.6 million tourists in 2011. Our
main competitors for this product are the rest
of the Spanish coast, Greece and Turkey.
coast: sun
Sun and beach holidays attract many types
of tourist from different segments, mainly
those who want family holidays without
spending as much as they would with other
and beach
products. After families, the largest segment
is senior tourists.
In the case of Catalonia tourists are offered

trips to the Catalan coast so that they can
relax and enjoy the Mediterranean sun and
beach lifestyle. They are, moreover, visiting a
coast with many additional attractions, such
Journeys to the coast as water sports, gastronomy and other cul-
are mainly motivated by a tural activities. Visitors can also travel along
all or part of the Catalan coast.
desire to relax and enjoy Average length of stay: 7 to 15 days.
the sun and the beach. The Season: summer
Catalan coast offers many Product lines include:
and varied attractions. This Coastal towns with special charm

Villages with a maritime tradition
includes the possibility of Major beach resorts
doing water sports and

Family holidays on the Catalan coast
Sailing and water sports in the Mediter-
other complementary ranean
activities in the same

setting, and visitors can
travel along all or part of the
Catalan coast.
priority markets: germany, austria,

belgium, france, the netherlands, italy,
nordic countries, the united kingdom,
the rest of spain, russia and switzerland
76 products vs. markets catalan coast: sun and beach 77
The basic factors to compete internationally Key factors for success are: Spain, Turkey and Greece stand out as the
are: main destinations, as 50% of trips are to these
Excellent conservation of the environment countries. European tourists in search of sun and
Excellent accessibility Well-tended destinations without massive beach travel to various parts of the Mediterranean.
Comprehensive food and accommodation tourist presence
deals Destinations with an identity of their own,
Main destinations for Europeans
Good value for money with strong, distinctive positioning
Thematic activities and experiences avail- Qualified workforce with knowledge of lan-
able guages and customer care skills
Top destinations in Europe
Well-trained staff and good customer ser- Varied, good quality additional attractions
Destinations competing with Catalonia
vice (food, activities, shopping, etc.) % market share
Country / Country / area
Mild climate during most of the year High levels of security region
Plenty of clean beaches Spain Balearic Islands, Canary Spain
Islands, Costa Brava, >20
Sufficient, suitable accommodation of ac-
Costa Daurada, Costa
ceptable quality near the beach Traditional Blanca, Costa del Sol Turkey
Proximity of a town or city to give more life destinations France Cte d'Azur, Corsica >10 Greece
to the destination Italy Adriatic coast, Versilia, Italy
Ligurian Riviera, Costa Croatia
Hospitable local population Smeralda 0
Greece Crete, Rhodes, Corfu
Portugal Algarve 5
Croatia Istria, Dalmatia, Kvarner
Turkey Aegean coast, 1 4
New Mediterranean coast, Black 3
destinations Sea coast
Egypt Sharm el-Sheikh, Hurghada 2
Morocco Agadir
Sun and beach holidays attract all segments of A high proportion of tourists are concentrated
the population to a greater or lesser extent and in the period May to August and most visits
are especially popular with families. Spending last at least a week.
levels are lower than with other tourism
products.
Profile of European tourists Breakdown by seasons
Families 23%
63%
Seniors 18%
Couples without 17%
78.6 million tourists chose sun and beach holidays in Europe in 2011; it is the largest sector in the children
Young 14% 14%
European market and is standing up well to the crisis. Germany and the United Kingdom are the professionals 11%
biggest consumers. Adults without 9%
children
Students 7%
January - April May - August September - December
Tourists travelling in Europe Main outbound markets in Europe 05 10 15 20 25
(% of total sun and beach travel)

+19.2%
Spending Length of stay (days)
Germany 20.0%
78.6 40% 63%
74.9 United Kingdom 15.3%
65.9 67.6 > 150 per night
Nordic countries 8.5% 80-150 per night

< 80 per night 25%
Russia 8.2% 13%
France 7.8% 60%
2000 2005 2010 2011 05 10 15 20 From 1 to 3 From 4 to 7 From 8 to 14

Short getaways, especially city breaks, are

growing in importance. They have become
getaways
the second most-popular type of travel in Eu-
rope, with demand totalling about 46 million
tourists. Germany and the United Kingdom
are the largest outbound markets.
Getaways are usually to visit large towns with

easy access and varied attractions or to at-
tend major events. London and Paris top the
European ranking in this segment. These
Short trips, over a weekend breaks may be thematic (gastronomy, wine,
sport, etc.) or intended to allow people to re-
or long weekend, to lax and enjoy nature.
discover a city, enjoy an Average daily spending is 100-150 and

event or just relax in the they are less seasonal than other products,
although good weather is an important con-
country and enjoy nature. sideration.
These getaways may be Average length of stay: 2 to 4 days, over a

weekend or long weekend.
thematic (gastronomy, Season: all year.
wine, sport, etc.). Product lines include:
Culture, gastronomy and wine, with special

features. Visitors may enjoy access to re-
stricted architectural sites, attend cookery
classes with chefs, harvest and taste wine,
etc.
Cities with character.
Getaways with a theme: culture, gastrono-
my, wine, countryside, nature, adventure,
sport, special interest, etc.
priority markets: germany, austria, the

united states, france, italy, nordic countries,
the united kingdom, the rest of spain,
russia, singapore, switzerland and china
80 products vs. markets getaways 81
The basic factors to compete internationally Key factors for success are:
are: Excellent accessibility % market share
The availability of cultural attractions for Comprehensive food and accommodation
tourists deals
Proximity to outbound markets Good value for money >20
Main destinations for
Significant volume of accommodation of Thematic activities and experiences avail-
Europeans taking city breaks London
an appropriate standard able
Inter-city transport services Well-trained staff and good customer ser- >15
An effective system for signposting tour- vice Paris
ism resources and attractions Mild climate during most of the year
>10 Berlin
Rome
Madrid
Barcelona
Prague
Vienna
0
Getaways tend to be to large towns which are attractive and easily accessible:
London and Paris are at the forefront, both in city breaks and travel for major
events. Barcelona is the leading destination in Catalonia.
Getaways are taken by most segments in the Getaways are less seasonal than other
population. Spending averages 100-150 per products, as they are available throughout the
day, although this can vary according to the year, although they are more attractive when
destination, and the services and activities the weather is good. People usually choose
chosen. weekends or long weekends for this type of trip.

Couples without
children 21% 41%
Adults without 33%
20%
children 26%
City breaks are growing in importance and are now the second most-popular type of Young 19%
travel in Europe. In 2011 demand reached 46 million. Germany and the United Kingdom professionals
Seniors 18%
are the largest outbound markets.
Students 14%
January - April May - August September - December
Tourists travelling in Europe Main outbound markets for Europe Families 8%
(% of city break travel) 05 05 10 15 20 25

+35.3%
Germany 14.2%
50%
27% 43%
46.4 United Kingdom 12.3% >150 per night
42.6
34.3 37.3
Nordic countries 11.5% 80-150 per night
Spain 8.6% <80 per night 7%
The Netherlands 6.9% 73%
2000 2005 2010 2011 0 3 6 9 12 15 From 1 to 3 From 4 to 7 From 8 to 14

This is the third most-popular type of travel

in Europe, with demand at 41 million; France
routes
and Italy are the largest outbound markets.
These long journeys enable visitors to dis-
cover the most representative attractions
of a region, its culture and traditions, etc.
Routes may be general or related to a theme
(culture, gastronomy, wine, the coast, etc.).
Spain is the top destination for this type of
travel, followed by France, Italy and Germa-
Long journeys to discover ny. Travel can be organised or independent,
in tourists own vehicles.
the most representative Users are mostly middle-aged adults and
attractions of a region, its seniors travelling in a group. They have con-
siderable purchasing power. Daily spending
culture and traditions, etc. averages 110-150.
Routes may be general or Average length of stay: 6 to 10 days.

Season: mostly in summer and mid-season if
related to a theme (culture, the weather is good.
gastronomy, wine, the Product lines include:
coast, etc.). Major cultural and natural icons such as
Montserrat, the Sagrada Famlia, the Dal
triangle, Aigestortes i Estany de Sant
Maurici National Park, the Ebro Delta, etc.
The 5 main routes through Catalonia: major
icons and experiences built into routes.
Thematic routes: culture, nature, wine and
gastronomy, luxury, etc.

belgium, the united states, france, the
netherlands, italy, the united kingdom, the
rest of spain, russia, switzerland and china
84 products vs. markets routes 85
are: Excellent accessibility
A large number of major tourist attractions An effective system for signposting tourism % market share
to create a critical mass resources and attractions
Availability of structured routes Authentic destinations Top destinations in Europe >15
Good internal communications and access Authentic, varied and innovative experi- Destinations competing with Catalonia Spain
routes ences should be developed
Food, accommodation and basic services Tourists should be able to obtain informa- >10
France
available in all parts of the route tion, book and make purchases on line or Italy
using mobiles Germany
Mild climate during most of the year >5
Croatia
2
5
1 3
Spain is the top destination for this type of travel, followed by France, Italy and Germany.
Trips may be organised or made in tourists own vehicles.
Users are mostly middle-aged adults and Trips mainly take place in high and mid-
seniors travelling in groups. They have season, when weather and temperatures are
considerable purchasing power and average most favourable. Tours usually last between 1
daily spending is 110 - 150. and 2 weeks.
Seniors 37%
Adults without 52%
children 23%
Families 18% 27%
Routes are the third most-popular type of travel in Europe, with demand at 41 million in 2011.
Adults without 21%
France and Italy are the largest outbound markets. children 14%
Young 8%
professionals
Tourists travelling in Europe Main outbound markets for Europe Students 2% January - April May - August September - December
(% of all tours) 05 05 10 15 20 25 30 35 40
+30.5%
France 12.3%
25% 25% 58%
Italy 10.5% >150 per night
41.0 42%
33.9 36.6
31.4 Nordic countries 9.7% 80-150 per night
Germany 8.9% <80 per night
Russia 6.2%
2000 2005 2010 2011 0 3 6 9 12 15 50% From 4 to 7 From 8 to 14
Nearly 17 million European travellers opted to

spend holidays enjoying nature, natural parks,
nature, inland,
the mountains and the countryside. Germany
is the largest outbound market for this type
of travel. Up to now Western Europe has led
the market but Eastern Europe is becoming a
strong competitor.
mountains Travellers are usually groups of adults without

children and seniors. They spend less than
those choosing other tourism products.
and adventure In Catalonia tourists can choose a lighter ver-

sion and spend their time walking, going on
easy hikes, hiking, pony trekking, etc. Alterna-
tively they can choose a tougher version and
do adventure sports. The trip may use a town
as a base to explore the area or move from
place to place.
Trips to enjoy nature, parks, Average length of stay: 7 to 10 days, over a
the mountains and the weekend or long weekend.
Season: especially in summer or at times when
countryside. In the softer the weather is good (May to August).
version, tourists spend their Product lines include:

time walking, going on easy Experiences and natural and rural spaces,
hikes, pony trekking, etc. such as staying in inland parts of Catalonia
and the Pyrenees, activities in natural parks
In the tougher version, and other open spaces, etc.
Adventure and activity tourism, such as
tourists do adventure pony trekking, balloon flights, parachuting,
paintball, climbing, etc.
sports. The trip may use a 100% cycling and walking, for example
town as a base to explore along the Saint James Way, GR and PR

trails, on-road and off-road cycling, etc.
the area or move from Family holidays in a natural setting, where
the above products are adapted to the
place to place. needs of families.
Fun in the snow, with activities such as ski-
ing, snowboarding, snow-shoes, trekking,
etc.
Adventure and activity tourism in the Cata-
lan Pyrenees, e.g. rafting, canoeing, etc., in
addition to snow-related activities.
priority markets: germany, belgium,

france, the netherlands, italy, the united
kingdom and the rest of spain
88 products vs. markets nature, inland, mountains and adventure 89
% market share
Main destinations for Europeans
>15 France
Top destinations in Europe
Destinations competing with Catalonia
Austria
>10 Italy
Switzerland
Germany
>5
Spain
0
5
4 2
1
6 3
are: A wide range of activities with specialist pro-
Environmental awareness and well-con- fessional guides Western Europe leads the market but Eastern Europe is also becoming popular.
served destinations Additional attractions linked to themes such
Significant volume of accommodation of an as discovering local culture or cuisine
appropriate standard The existence of towns and villages with
A range of well-marked routes and circuits, charm and authentic areas of great natural Nature tourism attracts mostly adults without Over half of visitors are concentrated in the
both of general interest and specifically for beauty children and seniors. Travellers spend less months May to August and most trips take
mountain bikers, cyclists, hikers, bird watch- Easy access to the destination, routes and than those choosing other tourism products. place at weekends or over long weekends.
ers, etc. natural parks
Mild climate during most of the year
Good value for money Profile of European tourists Breakdown by seasons
Basic transport connections (by air or over- Adults without
land) children 51%
Seniors
Families
In 2011, 16.8 million trips in Europe were made so that people could enjoy activities in nature. 23%
27%
Germany is the main outbound market for this type of travel. Students
Couples without
children
Nature travel in Europe Main outbound markets in Europe Young
professionals January - April May - August September - December
(% of all nature trips)
+57.2%
Germany 49.0%
44% 50% 50%
26.1 United Kingdom 15.4% >150 per night
20.4 80-150 per night
16.6 16.8 The Netherlands 10.3%
<80 per night
Nordic countries 8.9%
France 5.1% 56%
2000 2005 2010 2011 From 1 to 3 From 4 to 7

In 2010 meeting tourism attracted over 7 mil-

lion visitors. Growth in this sector has been
MICE
halted by the crisis. Nevertheless, it is a very
attractive sector, providing better returns
than other products.
The leading markets in MICE tourism are

Germany and the United Kingdom. Barcelo-
na holds second place in the ranking of cities
organising most international meetings.
Catalonia can add value to trips of this type

because of the services it offers, its infra-
structures, spaces and resources, in urban
and inter-urban locations which meet the
Trips to meet a small, needs of companies. MICE tourism allows
travellers to meet a small, medium-sized or
medium-sized or large large group of people to exchange ideas,
work, innovate, build teams, etc., and can be
group of people to used to provide incentives for staff.
exchange ideas, work, Average length of stay: 2 to 4 days.

innovate, build teams, etc., Season: all year except summer.
or provide incentives for Product lines include:
staff. Catalonia can add Catalonia Congresses and Events (gener-

ally large-format congresses)
value to this type of trip Different-sized meetings aimed mainly at
small groups, in attractive settings which
because of the services it stimulate participants imagination and en-
courage them to think outside the box.
offers, its infrastructures, Team-building in Catalonia: meetings at-
spaces and resources, tended by 50-100 participants in a setting
which is very different from the workplace.
in urban and inter-urban Meetings in non-urban locations allowing
participants to enjoy outdoor leisure activi-
locations which meet the ties.
Incentive trips to Catalonia or incentive
needs of companies. stays for employees, based on other prod-
uct lines.

france, italy, nordic countries, the united
kingdom, the rest of spain, russia,
singapore, switzerland and china
92 products vs. markets MICE 93
The basic factors to compete internationally Key factors for success are: Seven of the ten cities organising the most international meetings are in Europe. Barcelona is in
are: Excellent access (direct flights, low-cost second place, with nearly 150 meetings held in 2010.
Wide range of modern infrastructures and airlines, etc.)
centres where meetings can be held. State-of-the-art infrastructures with the lat- Seasonality: the period from May to November Profile of tourists: business tourism segments,
Accommodation of different categories est technology (excluding the months of July and August) has according to Concur study:
(mainly 4- and 5-star) Hotels with facilities for meetings and ad- always been the most popular for organising in-
Good accessibility and proximity to out- ditional services ternational meetings. Most meetings are annual Veterans: enthusiastic and very experienced
bound markets Availability of pre- and post-meeting activi- events. Unmotivated: frequent travellers but not enthu-
Local and private transport services ties siastic; they avoid travelling if they can
High levels of security Length of trip: the average length of internation- Insecure: worried and anxious about the chal-
al meetings has fallen in recent years and now lenges involved in trips
stands at 3.85 days. Technological: young and very enthusiastic,
they adapt to any technological innovation
Traveller 2.0: inexperienced but very enthu-
siastic, adaptable, keen to explore and share
experience
International meeting market share by Main destinations in Europe

continent
Meetings Meetings
World Europe City 2005 2010
2% 1 1 Vienna 144 154
Africa 2 2 Barcelona 135 148
4%
Australia 3 3 Paris 132 147
8% 4 4 Berlin 106 138
South America
6 5 Madrid 69 114
North America 7 6 Istanbul 60 109
18% 8 7 Lisbon 86 106
57% Asia
9 8 Amsterdam 103 104
Europe 14 9 London 104 97
15 10 Copenhagen 83 92
MICE tourism is a very attractive sector, as it brings to the destination income well above that
In 2010, MICE tourism attracted 7.1 million visitors, but growth in this sector has been halted by the generated by other sectors, such as traditional sun and beach holidays. Events tend to be
crisis. Germany and the United Kingdom are the largest markets. organised when the weather is better, they last 3 to 4 days on average and are attended by a
wide range of professional profiles.
MICE tourism in Europe Main outbound markets in Europe
(% of all meeting trips)
Spending Breakdown of daily spending
+29.3%
Other
Germany 5% 3%
15.4% Transport
6%
9.23 $305
United Kingdom 12.6% 33%
7.96 Leisure
7.14 7.35 11%
Nordic countries 7.0% Shopping
$100
France 5.8% Food
13%
Russia Accommodation
5.3%
2000 2011* 2015* 2020* 29% Registration fees
Conventions and congresses Sun and beach
Trips to pursue a hobby or other activity peo-

ple like in depth. The destination chosen will
special
be one recognised as having natural or cul-
tural resources allowing visitors to pursue
their interest.
interest
Average length of stay: very variable.
Season: all year.
Product lines include:
holidays
Sports holidays in Catalonia
Golf in Catalonia
Learning to cook in Catalonia
Places of religious interest in Catalonia
Health and wellness
Accessible travel in Catalonia
Responsible tourism in Catalonia
Catalonia for 50+
Trips to pursue a hobby or

other activity people like
in depth. The destination
chosen will be one
recognised as having
natural or cultural resources
allowing visitors to pursue
their interest.
priority markets: germany, belgium,

the united states, france, the netherlands,
nordic countries, the united kingdom,
russia, singapore and china
96 appendix 97
Marketing intelligence is one of the key issues to be tackled in
the coming years; work needs to be done both on analysing
market structures and trends and on monitoring the activities
of tourists and visitor satisfaction and loyalty.
This appendix contains tables summarising statistics of IET op-
erations: the survey Moviments Turstics en Fronteres [Tour-
ist Movement at Borders] (Frontur) and the survey Despesa
Turstica [Tourist Spending] (Egatur), broken down by country

as far as possible within the limitations of the sample.
appendix
statistics
98 appendix 99
france italy
Tourists resident in France whose main destination is Catalonia. Tourists resident in Italy whose main destination is Catalonia.
Basic indicators. September 2013 Basic indicators. September 2013
Tourist profile Tourist profile

Reason for trip total cumulative % in last 12 months total % for month Reason for trip total cumulative % in last 12 months total % for month
Pleasure / holiday 82.6% 80.0% Pleasure / holiday 75.0% 76.6%
Work / business / trade fairs and conferences 8.0% Work / business / trade fairs and conferences 10.8% 10.7%
Study 1.5% Study 6.8% 6.6%
Personal (family, health, shopping) 5.9% Personal (family, health, shopping) 4.2% 2.4%
Other 2.0% Other 3.2% 3.7%
Means of transport total cumulative % in last 12 months total % for month Means of transport total cumulative % in last 12 months total % for month
Air 21.7% 16.6% Air 75.0% 71.0%
Sea 0.5% Sea 14.4% 18,3%
Train 0.4% Train 0.1% -
Own vehicle 77.4% 82.5% Own vehicle 10.5% 10.6%
Type of accommodation** total cumulative % in last 12 months total % for month Type of accommodation** total cumulative % in last 12 months total % for month
Hotels and similar establishments 53.0% 59.0% Hotels and similar establishments 73.4% 75.7%
Free accommodation 26.6% Free accommodation 14.1% 8.7%
Rented accommodation 11.7% Rented accommodation 10.0% 11.9%
Other accommodation 8.7% Other accommodation 2.5% 3.7%
Duration of stay total cumulative % in last 12 months total % for month Duration of stay total cumulative % in last 12 months total % for month
1 night 10.9% 1 night 4.2% 5.8%
From 2 to 3 nights 32.9% 40.3% From 2 to 3 nights 28.5% 16.3%
From 8 to 15 nights 12.7% From 8 to 15 nights 10.5% 11.0%
Over 15 nights 5.5% Over 15 nights 2.5% 3.3%
Breakdown of spending by tourists Breakdown of spending by tourists

Item*** total % for month % of total Item*** total % for month % of total
Tour package 1.6% 0.1% Tour package 10.8% 9.2%
Accommodation and other 33.9% 26.4% Accommodation and other 25.9% 28.6%
Transport 21.6% 22.3% Transport 26.6% 25.2%
Restaurants and other 17.5% 16.8% Restaurants and other 17.5% 17.8%
Food and other 8.8% 9.4% Food and other 3.5% 3.0%
Excursions and other 16.8% 25.1% Excursions and other 15.7% 16.3%
Source: IET Frontur and Egatur Source: IET Frontur and Egatur
*K: thousands of euros *K: thousands of euros
**Type of accommodation **Type of accommodation

Hotels and similar establishments Hotels and similar establishments
Free accommodation: own property, friends and family, time share accommodation Free accommodation: own property, friends and family, time share accommodation
Rented accommodation: rented directly or via an agency Rented accommodation: rented directly or via an agency
Other accommodation: campsites, caravans, rural tourism accommodation, other Other accommodation: campsites, caravans, rural tourism accommodation, other
***Items of expenditure ***Items of expenditure

Tour package: the cost of the package itself Tour package: the cost of the package itself
Accommodation and other: includes all payments related to accommodation Accommodation and other: includes all payments related to accommodation
Transport: return travel and transport at the destination Transport: return travel and transport at the destination
Restaurants and other: meals and other items consumed in restaurants Restaurants and other: meals and other items consumed in restaurants
Food and other: drinks and other (cleaning and pharmaceutical products, etc.) Food and other: drinks and other (cleaning and pharmaceutical products, etc.)
Excursions and other: cultural activities, sport, shopping Excursions and other: cultural activities, sport, shopping
Note: if the sample is not sufficiently representative, the IET does not report figures. Note: if the sample is not sufficiently representative, the IET does not report figures.
100 appendix 101
united kingdom germany

Tourists resident in the United Kingdom whose main destination is Catalonia. Tourists resident in Germany whose main destination is Catalonia.

Work / business / trade fairs and conferences 11.4% 10.4% Work / business / trade fairs and conferences 13.4% 17.6%
Study 1.0% 0.1% Study 1.1% 0.4%
Personal (family, health, shopping) 1.8% 0.7% Personal (family, health, shopping) 2.8% 0.9%
Other 0.9% 0.1% Other 0.3% 0.3%
Air 95.8% 95.6% Air 78.1% 80.2%
Sea 0.5% 0.7% Sea 0.5% 0.4%
Train 0.3% 0.2% Train 0.2% 0.2%
Free accommodation 9.1% 6.6% Free accommodation 20.1% 16.3%
Rented accommodation 10.9% 11.5% Rented accommodation 9.4% 10.3%
Other accommodation 6.6% 10.2% Other accommodation 7.3% 10.4%
1 night 4.0% 2.5% 1 night 3.8% 3.4%
Over 15 nights 2.1% 2.0% Over 15 nights 11.1% 9.8%



102 appendix 103
switzerland belgium
Tourists resident in Switzerland whose main destination is Catalonia. Tourists resident in Belgium whose main destination is Catalonia

Reason for trip total cumulative % in last 12 months Reason for trip total cumulative % in last 12 months
Pleasure / holiday 82.0% Pleasure / holiday 86.2%
Work / business / trade fairs and conferences 9.1% Work / business / trade fairs and conferences 9.4%
Study 1.7% Study 0.3%
Personal (family, health, shopping) 4.9% Personal (family, health, shopping) 2.9%
Other 2.4% Other 1.3%
Means of transport total cumulative % in last 12 months Means of transport total cumulative % in last 12 months
Air 84.4% Air 61.1%
Sea 0.2% Sea 0.9%
Train 0.3% Train 0.1%
Own vehicle 15.2% Own vehicle 38.0%
Type of accommodation** total cumulative % in last 12 months Type of accommodation** total cumulative % in last 12 months
Hotels and similar establishments 66.9% Hotels and similar establishments 57.8%
Free accommodation 21.6% Free accommodation 23.8%
Rented accommodation 9.3% Rented accommodation 10.9%
Other accommodation 2.1% Other accommodation 7.4%
Duration of stay total cumulative % in last 12 months Duration of stay total cumulative % in last 12 months
1 night 3.5% 1 night 3.1%
From 2 to 3 nights 25.8% From 2 to 3 nights 19.8%
Over 15 nights 4.7% Over 15 nights 9.0%

Item*** % of total Item*** % of total
Tour package 6.8% Tour package 9.0%
Accommodation and other 23.5% Accommodation and other 26.6%
Transport 30.4% Transport 25.2%
Restaurants and other 17.6% Restaurants and other 16.2%
Food and other 4.2% Food and other 7.3%
Excursions and other 17.4% Excursions and other 15.8%


104 appendix 105
the netherlands nordic countries

Tourists resident in the Netherlands whose main destination is Catalonia. Tourists resident in the Nordic countries (Denmark, Finland, Norway, Sweden) whose main destination
Basic indicators. September 2013 is Catalonia. Basic indicators September 2013

Study 0.6% - Study 1.1% 0.3%
Personal (family, health, shopping) 3.0% - Personal (family, health, shopping) 1.6% 0.6%
Other 0.7% - Other 1.9% 0.5%
Air 70.1% 70.2% Air 97.3% 97.6%
Sea 0.8% 1.1% Sea 0.3% 0.3%
Train 0.0% - Train 0.2% 0.3%
1 night 2.9% 3.4% 1 night 2.3% 1.9%



106 appendix 107
russia united states

Tourists resident in Russia whose main destination is Catalonia Tourists resident in the United States whose main destination is Catalonia.

Study 0.1% - Study 3.3% 0.4%
Personal (family, health, shopping) 0.4% 0.0% Personal (family, health, shopping) 1.2% 1.9%
Other 0.5% 1.8% Other 0.4% 0.2%
Air 88.8% 84.3% Air 93.4% 95.6%
Sea 0.1% 0.0% Sea 1.0% 1.4%
Train 0.0% 0.0% Train 1.1% 1.6%
Duration of stay total cumulative % in last 12 months total % for month Duration of stay total cumulative % in last 12 months 3.8%
1 night 1.5% 1.3% 1 night 5.4% 29.6%

Tour package 35.8% 45.1% Tour package 26.5% -
Accommodation and other 12.3% 10.5% Accommodation and other 15.4% -
Transport 13.9% 9.9% Transport 32.9% -
Restaurants and other 14.1% 12.9% Restaurants and other 10.2% -
Food and other 2.3% 2.2% Food and other 1.6% -
Excursions and other 21.6% 19.4% Excursions and other 13.5% -


108 appendix 109
foreign residents bibliography

Foreign residents whose main destination is Catalonia. Balan turstic 2012. Observatori dEmpresa i TURESPAA (2011). Estudios de mercados
Basic indicators. September 2013 Ocupaci. Generalitat de Catalunya. tursticos emisores. Argentina mercado em-
isor.
Tourist profile Familitur, forecast for June 2012.
Reason for trip total cumulative % in last 12 months total % for month TURESPAA (2011). Estudios de mercados
Pleasure / holiday 83.0% 83.8% Familitur. IET. tursticos emisores. Austria mercado emisor.
Work / business / trade fairs and conferences 10.4% 12.8%
Study 1.5% 0.9% FUR Reiseanalyse 2013. TURESPAA (2011). Estudios de mercados
Personal (family, health, shopping) 3.7% 1.6%
Other 1.4% 0.9%
tursticos emisores. Brasil mercado emisor.
Means of transport total cumulative % in last 12 months total % for month Instituto de Estudios Tursticos.
Air 66.8% 70,7% TURESPAA (2011). Estudios de mercados
Sea 1.5% 1.7% Ministerium fr Wirtschaft und Technologie, tursticos emisores. Suiza mercado emisor.
Train 0.4% 0.3% Jahreswirtschaftsbericht 2013.
Own vehicle 31.2% 27.3%
TURESPAA (2011). Estudios de mercados
Type of accommodation** total cumulative % in last 12 months total % for month
Observatori de Turisme de Catalunya. tursticos emisores. Visin general del pas.
Hotels and similar establishments 67.1% 72.9% Argentina.
Free accommodation 16.7% 13.2% Ranking Hosteltur de Grandes Redes de
Rented accommodation 9.6% 7.4% Agencias de Viaje. TURESPAA (2011). Estudios de mercados
Other accommodation 6.6% 6.4% tursticos emisores. Visin general del pas.
LookInSide.Travel 2012. Austria.
Duration of stay total cumulative % in last 12 months total % for month
1 night 5.9% 4.9%
From 2 to 3 nights 24.5% 23.0% Reiseanalyse 2013, Erste Ausgewhlte Ergeb- TURESPAA (2011). Estudios de mercados
From 4 to 7 nights 44.9% 44.4% nisse der 43. tursticos emisores. Visin general del pas.
From 8 to 15 nights 18.8% 22.4% Brasil.
Over 15 nights 5.9% 5.3%
SECO 2011.
TURESPAA (2011). Estudios de mercados
Breakdown of spending by tourists
Series Contabilidad Nacional INE 2012 and tursticos emisores. Visin general del pas.
Item*** total % for month % of total Contabilidad Regional 2011, www.ine.es. Suiza.
Tour package 14.9% 18.2%
Accommodation and other 22.9% 22.0%
Transport 26.9% 25.7%
Tourism Economics.
Restaurants and other 14.9% 14.9%
Food and other 4.1% 3.4%
Excursions and other 16.3% 15.8%
Source: IET Frontur and Egatur
*K: thousands of euros
**Type of accommodation
Hotels and similar establishments
Free accommodation: own property, friends and family, time share accommodation
Rented accommodation: rented directly or via an agency
Other accommodation: campsites, caravans, rural tourism accommodation, other
***Items of expenditure
Tour package: the cost of the package itself
Accommodation and other: includes all payments related to accommodation
Transport: return travel and transport at the destination
Restaurants and other: meals and other items consumed in restaurants
Food and other: drinks and other (cleaning and pharmaceutical products, etc.)
Excursions and other: cultural activities, sport, shopping
Note: if the sample is not sufficiently representative, the IET does not report figures.
110 appendix 111
catalan tourist board

offices abroad
Benelux United Kingdom and Ireland Italy Asia Pacific
CATALAN TOURIST BOARD CATALAN TOURIST BOARD CATALAN TOURIST BOARD CATALAN TOURIST BOARD
Wetstraat 227 Rue de la Loi (3me tage) 17, Fleet Street (3rd Floor) Via Montebello, 27 10 Anson Road
BRUXELLES 1040 LONDON EC4Y 1AA 20121 MILANO International Plaza 25 07
info.act.bnl@gencat.cat info.act.uk@gencat.cat info.act.it@gencat.cat SINGAPORE
32 26 406 151 442 075 838 855 39 02 87393573 079903
info.act.sea@gencat.cat
Nordic Countries Central Europe Russia and Eastern Europe 65 62204022
CATALAN TOURIST BOARD CATALAN TOURIST BOARD CATALAN TOURIST BOARD
Korkeavuorenkatu 30 A Palmengartenstrasse, 6 Ul.Serafimovicha 2/20 entrance 12 United States, Canada and Mexico
00130 HELSINKI 60325 FRANKFURT office 219 CATALAN TOURIST BOARD
Finland AM MAIN MOSCOW 119072 360 Lexington Avenue,
info.act.nordic@gencat.cat info.act.de@gencat.cat info.act.ru@gencat.cat Suite 1801
35 84 07 17 72 95 49 69 7422 4873 7 495 567 1871 NEW YORK NY 10017
info.act.usa@gencat.cat
France Spain China 1 212 7823332
CATALAN TOURIST BOARD TOURIST INFORMATION OFFICE OF CATALONIA CATALAN TOURIST BOARD
50, rue Saint Ferdinand Centre Cultural Blanquerna Capital Mansion, Room 1906 South America
PARIS F-75017 Alcal, 44 n6, Xin Yuan Nan Rd. CATALAN TOURIST BOARD
promotion.act.fr@gencat.cat 28014 MADRID Chaoyang District Avda. Juscelino Kubitschek, 1726, 11 andar,
33 1 40 46 97 97 turisme.blanquerna@gencat.cat BEIJING 100004 conj.111/112
915 241 000 promotion.act.cn@gencat.cat 04543-000 Vila Olmpia - So Paulo
0086 10 84 86 82 84 SP BRASIL
info.act.latam@gencat.cat
55 11 30530477
Legal deposit: B 7708-2014

www.act.cat www.catalunya.com

Outbound Markets For Tourism

Uploaded by

Document Information

Original Title

Copyright

Available Formats

Share this document

Share or Embed Document

Sharing Options

Did you find this document useful?

Is this content inappropriate?

Copyright:

Available Formats

Outbound Markets For Tourism

Uploaded by

Copyright:

Available Formats

outbound

72 products vs. markets

fore- But this is not enough. In a changing world

The aim of the Catalan Tourist Board is to

1. To promote the Catalonia brand and the

More information: www.act.cat Catalan Tourist Board offices in other countries

and the Pyrenees. generalised decline in travel by Spaniards. Catalonia

Market Patterns of demand

The strongest competitors in Spain, particu-

The level of Spanish travellers knowledge

16.5% of spending by tourists comes from 30

2005 2006 2007 2008 2009 2010 2011 (est.) 2015

Source: Tourism Economics. Source: Cabinet Raffour / 2012 Edition.

Market when planning a trip. The other main source

fication of known destinations in Catalonia,

36.6% of Italians travel without booking

Booking via an intermediary

Direct online booking

Direct offline booking

Source: ISTAT 2013.

Market Most Italian tourists (77.5%) fly to Catalonia,

Source: IET and Tourism Economics.

ists appreciate ecological tourism and envi-

Almost half of British tourists contact the

Tourists arriving in European destinations (millions) Directly with

Source: Tourism Economics. Source: Flash Eurobarometer reports.

Market Products Patterns of demand

switzerland Internet/portal 14%

Direct transport bookings 13%

Market Transport Patterns of demand When organising travel:

Revenue (million euros)

The number of journeys made annually by

7.9% 8.4% 8.3% 9.2% 9.6% 9.7% 9.6% 9.7%

2005 2006 2007 2008 2009 2010 2011 (est.) 2015

Source: Tourism Economics.

Market Products Austrian homes with computers and Internet access

structure Tourism products in demand

Catalonias main competitors are Italy, Ger-

Market Patterns of demand Trends and

Total Spain Switzerland friends. Source: RMS 2007.

Spain or Catalonia in the Swiss market, but it

trips, which include those to Spain.

seems that a high percentage of people who

travel have been to Spain, with a good level

Spain of satisfaction in general.

Benelux office with per capita GDP at 29,617. Unem-

In the years to come our aim should be to

Source: IET and Tourism Economics.

Source: Trendrapport, toerisme, recreati en vrije tijd 2010-2011.

General description Market

Other important agencies in this sector in-

The breakdown of airlines operating in Cata-

Source: THR based on European Travel Monitor.

Sun and beach

Some platforms which operate exclusively

In the last season there was increased use of

Uncertainty about the economy

such as hiking and wine tourism in Catalonia.

2005 2006 2007 2008 2009 2010 2011 (est.) 2015

Source: Tourism Economics. Source: Turespaa Tourist Information Office.

The second most popular product is city

Travel abroad by Russians has increased 19.5% 40.3%

Source: Tourism Economics.