"Although Barcelona is the world's fourth-largest convention and exhibition city, according to the latest ICCA statistics, Asian visitors are still few in number, even though this figure has increased in the past years," says Irene Yusta, of the National Tourist Office of Spain's Singapore branch.
Barcelona's high profile and global status does present a challenge when it comes to
marketing the rest of Catalonia, which has much going for it. After all, here is a location
that boasts both the mountains of the yrénées and the beaches of the Costa Brava.
REGIONAL CHALLENGE
Many of the surrounding regions are making trides in the conference facilities they offer.
To the south, the Roman city of Tarragona has he Palau Firal de Congressos, with its natural
rock walls. To the north, Girona has its own ew Palau de Congressos, with its distinctive
triangular architecture and 1,200-capacity ymphonic Hall. Both destinations have
plans to grow their five-star hotel portfolios. he historic town of Lleida, meanwhile, has
even bigger plans afoot. La Llotja, a brand new, ,650-capacity conference centre, opens next
year. This new facility will be added to enlarge atalonia's impressive infrastructure. The
region currently has 750 halls, which can seat 58,000 delegates in 166 centres. These facilities
enabled Catalonia to host 103 meetings in 2006.
The National Tourist Office of Spain's ingapore office is working hard for the region, unning familiarisation trips, attending trade shows and conducting workshops in ingapore, most recently in January.
"Incentive opportunities in the region bound, from skiing in the Pyrénées to Catalan
gastronomy tours, as well as tours to Figueres, he birthplace of Salvador Dali," says Yusta.
The region also boasts Spain's biggest musement park in Port Aventura, which ast year hosted Unilever, American xpress, Orange, Proctor & Gamble and eutsche Bank.
"Corporate groups are demanding more ang for their buck," says park representative
Sarah Johnson. "Port Aventura is proving to e a popular choice for corporate buyers.
The [Catalan] infrastructure and a competitive xchange rate make its location ideal."
