(TAN): UNWTO has welcomed the Barcelona Tourism Observatory into its growing International Network of Sustainable Tourism Observatories (INSTO).
Tourism is one of the leading economic sectors for the city of Barcelona and the surrounding region, responsible for more than 10% of local GDP. The Barcelona Tourism Observatory (BTO) will work to help guide the sector towards greater sustainability. As with other members of the INSTO initiative, the observatory will provide data and analysis to be used to guide evidence-based decision making. This will help Destination Barcelona better deal with the recovery of tourism and in the long run with the large tourist numbers and ensure the sector is managed in a sustainable and responsible manner.
UNWTO Secretary-General Zurab Pololikashvili said: “We warmly welcome Barcelona into our growing global network of observatories. As one of the world’s leading destinations, the observatory can help Barcelona better manage its tourism sector, recovering and growing back more sustainably for the benefit of visitors and residents alike.”
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For Turisme de Barcelona, the President of the Executive Committee, Eduard Torres, said the development “reinforces the importance of Barcelona’s international role in the field of tourism knowledge as well as positioning us to make even more progress towards sustainability across our sector”.
The Barcelona Tourism Observatory is supported by Barcelona City Council, Barcelona Provincial Council, Barcelona Chamber of Commerce and Turisme de Barcelona. This is the fourth Observatory in Spain, after Canary Islands, Navarra and Mallorca, and brings the worldwide total to 31.
