Tourism promotion in the French market

From 22^nd to 25^th April the “Village Catalan” promotional action aimed at end customers took place in Toulouse in the South of France.

The Patronat de Turisme, representing the general tourism offer of the counties of Girona and promoting the events of the Centenary of the Costa Brava, participated in the “Village Catalan” promotional action organised by the Catalan Tourism Agency in the French city of Toulouse on the occasion of the “Catalonia Year in France” on 22^nd, 23^rd, 24^th and 25^th April. The aim of the event was to make the French public familiar with the scenic, cultural, tourism and festive values of Catalonia and its main tourist destinations.

For five days the central venues of Place Saint George and Jardins des Plantes in Toulouse housed spaces designed especially for the tourism promotion of Catalan destinations and heritage. Together with the Patronat de Turisme, the towns of Lloret de Mar and Castelló d’Empúries - Empuriabrava were represented at the event, where their tourism offer was presented.

Many kinds of traditional Catalan entertainments took place at the event. A Nordic Walking display was provided by Lloret de Mar and a mediaeval musical show was put on by Castelló d’Empúries-Empuriabrava.

The opening ceremony of the “Village Catalan” took place in the evening of 22^nd April in the Hostal Occitània in Toulouse with the presence of the media, tourism sector professionals and dignitaries. Following the presentation of Catalonia as a tourist destination, a selection of canapés were served, based on dishes from the Centenary Menu in celebration of the Centenary of the Costa Brava, accompanied by Catalan musical performances.

The participation of the Patronat de Turisme in this action aimed to bring the tourism offer of the Costa Brava and the Pirineu de Girona to a tourist issuing market that is extremely important due to its proximity to the counties of Girona.

Prior to the “Village Catalan” promotional action in Toulouse, the Patronat de Turisme participated in a very well attended marketing workshop in the same city scheduled for the tourist boards that promote the 10 Catalan brands and for travel agents, tour operators, works councils, associations and other organisations from the Midi-Pyrénées region. This workshop was organised by Toulouse Airport and the Catalan Tourism Agency to promote the Barcelona-Toulouse scheduled flight.