Quality tourism: strategic value

These days, first class hotels in Sitges record a high occupation rate thanks to the Mobile World Congress, one of the most important economic and social events in our country, with a direct and indirect economic impact of extraordinary consequences. The past weekend, the name of Sitges appeared on all front pages on the occasion of the congress of Unió Democràtica, one of the governing parties. Two weeks ago, we also appeared in the media while covering Setmana de la Malvasia or Week of Malvasia wine. And now we are in the midst of Carnival.

Sitges brand is reinforcing its appeal and its seduction capacity. We are going through dire straits, in which different economic sectors suffer the effects of a lingering steep crisis that affects the purchasing power of the whole population. However, despite difficult conditions and restrictions, tourism maintains its drive as a generator of economic activity. We have different indicators that confirm the positive influence of tourism on the economic development in Sitges.

Business tourism. The celebration of congresses, conventions and meetings show that Sitges remains attractive and competitive at the same time. The efforts made ​​by the industry in this line -pricing, improved facilities, and promotion- confirm that this commitment to tourism is strategically essential and effective according to results. Hotels are already reserving conferences and conventions two or three years ahead of time thanks to the concourse of Agència de Turisme, our local municipal tourism agency. They are aware of the importance of this type of tourism for the sake of promotion and positioning.

New investments. In the past two years, Sitges opened eight new or refurbished hotels. The tourism sector believes in Sitges and its possibilities. We are not dealing with large hotels with hundreds of rooms. Maybe they are not needed now. We are dealing with investments that are only carried out if there are prospects of medium or long term profitability. A trend that shows our track record. In this line, the City Hall will implement during the coming months the one stop shop, which is intended to promote processing and investments of entrepreneurs and investors.

Cultural tourism. In our current tourism policy, cultural tourism has a remarkable importance. For over one hundred years, our town has been an important cultural destination, and throughout all this time, culture has been our flagship. From the municipal Tourism Agency to the Museums of Sitges, we are working on new plans that will allow us to strengthen this commitment and, in some cases, we were able to visualize and obtain the first positive results.

The latest employment data. An unemployment rate of 10% is a figure that cannot be positive in any way. But 10% in the context in which we operate (in Catalonia, unemployment is 22%) is a figure that illustrates that tourism and economic activity in Sitges provide clear and tangible results.

Tourism promotion. Last January, we presented the new tourism promotion material prepared by the municipal Tourism Agency of Sitges. It is a campaign that reacts to our strategic and promotional needs and presents the global offer of Sitges, aimed at the different segments and sectors that make up tourism in our town.