Turisme de Catalunya: This is the official organism responsible for the promotion and support to the marketing of Catalonia’s tourist resources, both abroad and in the rest of Spain. Its objective is to consolidate the image of the country as a diverse and qualified tourism destination.

Business Tourism

The Tourism of Congresses and Incentives is mainly concentrated in the city of Barcelona, a capital city with a long history in the organisation of fairs and congresses (Saló Nàutic, Saló del Automóvil, Alimentaria, Hostelco, SITC…).

For this reason, it has been established as the headquarters for the main European business fair, EIBTM (European Incentive, Business Travel and Meetings Exhibition) that was previously held in Geneva.

The largest congress centres in Catalonia are also in Barcelona (Barcelona Fira Congress Centres, Catalonia Congress Centres, CCIB Centro de Convenciones Internacional de Barcelona-Fórum showground, etc.).

Furthermore, Catalonia has a good network of showgrounds in all the main cities of the country which are perfectly connected with one another by a large road network.

The territory also has a great amount of both indoor and outdoor spaces, adapted and equipped for holding activities that guarantee the success of the most personalised acts.

An offer to which the offer provided by the hotels and catering establishments that have become specialised in this segment can be added, with multiple options as far as halls, spaces and equipment are concerned.

Catalonia, a quality destination

There are thousands of highly qualified professionals in the tourism sector in Catalonia who strive year after year to increase the level of quality. Proof of this excellence in the quality of the offer is the growing amount of Catalan businesses that request every year such prestigious certificates as the tourism quality Q and the ISO 9001.

The result of this collective commitment to improve has given Catalonia more than 20% of businesses with a quality certificate in the whole of Spain. The certificates are basically divided into two: tourism quality and environmental
quality.


Catalonia is a Mediterranean country, with a history of more than a thousand years and its own culture and language.
Inhabitants. 7 million.
Surface area. 31,930 km.
Cities. The capital city is Barcelona. Girona, Tarragona and Lleida are provincial capital cities.
Territory. It has very varied landscapes and a wealth of monuments.
Climate. Catalonia enjoys, generally, a temperate and mild Mediterranean climate,
characterised by dry, warm summers, and moderate winters.
Catalonia, a tourist country. Its great capacity for welcoming and excellent installations make it one the first tourist regions in Europe with more than 24 million tourists a year, 15 million of which come from abroad (60%). The foreign tourist volume represented an approximate world market quota of 1.8%.


The economy of Catalonia is active, enterprising and constantly in transformation. Its long tourist tradition helps convert it into a perfect destination for business and work meetings, and it offers excellent fair and conference facilities. Catalonia also has a wide range of complementary leisure activities ideal for moments of relaxation between meetings.

The business tourism industry is mostly concentrated in Barcelona. The Catalan capital has a long history of organising conferences and fairs (International Boat Show, International Food and Beverages Exhibition, SITC, GSM, etc.) and since 2004 it has been the home of Europe’s most prestigious business fair, the EIBTM (European Incentive, Business Travel and Meetings Exhibition). Starting from this central point, Turisme de Catalunya has structured a quality range of offerings that extends throughout the rest of the territory.

The consolidation of spaces such as the Palau Firal i de Congressos in Tarragona and the addition of new facilities like the Auditori Palau de Congressos in Girona, the Centre de Disseny in Sitges or the project for the La Llotja Teatre-Palau de Congressos in Lleida (scheduled to open in 2009) help to continue the development of this sector. Catalonia has a good network of fair centres distributed throughout its main cities, and its hotel and hospitality network can also be highlighted for its professional level of service and equipped infrastructure capable of hosting all types of events. In total, there are more than 1400 hotels with 224,000 rooms.

The Catalan-speaking counties also provide tourism proposals based on golf, wellness tourism, gourmet cuisine and culture, just to name a few. In short, it is Catalonia’s specialisation, quality, professionalism and innovation which convert it into an ideal destination for organising congresses, conventions and incentives.

Catalunya, meeting point

Turisme de Catalunya participates in the EIBTM as a meeting and joint promotion point for a group of territorial convention bureaus which participate in their stand:

Costa Daurada Convention Bureau, Girona Convention Bureau, Lleida Convention Bureau, Sitges Convention Bureau and Tarragona Convention Bureau.

The following companies will also participate in the stand: the Palau de Convencions i Congressos, Teatre Auditori of Salou; Magnolia Hotel; MPR Estudi; Hotel Termes of Montbrió; Le Méridien Ra Hotel Beach & Spa; Roc Roi; La Llotja
Teatre-Palau de Congressos of Lleida; Auditori Palau de Congressos of Girona; Hotel La Costa Golf & Beach Resort; Rigat Park & Spa Hotel; Lloret Turisme; Guitart Gran Hotel Monterrey; Palau de Congressos of Roses; Fang Aventura; Tornasol Aventura; Girona Convencions i Meetings; Olot City Hall; Hotel Vall de Núria; Hotel Mas Passamaner; Hotel Les Oliveres Beach Resort & Spa; Palau Firal i de Congressos of Tarragona; Portaventura Business & Events; Bodegas Torres;
Barcelona Golf; Hotel San Sebastian Playa; Hotel Antemare; Grupo Sagardi; the restaurant La Taberna del Puerto; Grupo Matas Arnalot; and FC Barcelona.