Affiliation to the Catalan Tourism Agency

The Patronat de Turisme Costa Brava Girona becomes affiliated to the Catalan Tourism Agency for the purpose of collaborating in the tourism promotion of Catalonia as a whole.

On 29^th January the unveiling of the Catalan Tourism Agency (ACT) took place in the National Theatre of Catalonia. This body, to which the Patronat de Turisme Costa Brava Girona is affiliated, is responsible for promoting tourism in Catalonia.

The event was attended by the Catalan Minister for Innovation, Universities and Enterprise, Josep Huguet, who was accompanied by the bodies and entities that, together with the Catalan Government, form part of the ACT: the Council of Catalan Chambers of Commerce, representing the business sector; and the tourist boards of the Provincial Councils of Girona, Lleida, Barcelona and Tarragona, together with the Barcelona Tourism Consortium, representing local entities. The day’s activities also included the first meeting of the Steering Committee of the ACT, the purpose of which was to approve the 2010 budget and decide upon the actions to be undertaken during this first year.

Enric Vilert, President of the Girona Provincial Council and of the Patronat de Turisme Costa Brava Girona, accompanied by Dolors Batllé, Director of the Patronat de Turisme, attended the first meeting of the Steering Committee and the presentation of the ACT.

The Catalan Tourism Agency began operating on 1^st January 2010 and replaces the Tourism Consortium of Catalonia. The new body has been set up based on the principles of joint decision-making and joint financing between public and private agents. The goal of the new agency is to offer a tourism promotion management model with a degree of active participation from the sector. The ACT has also been set up with the objective of providing the tourism sector with a more efficient promotion instrument that contributes to promoting Catalonia as a leading international tourist destination thanks to its diversity, quality and socioeconomic profitability. This body is an instrument for boosting the tourism promotion of Catalonia, seeking out new formulas and adapting to a changing market within the framework of the sustainable tourism model required over the next few years. The ACT has 24.6 million euros of public-private funding available for implementing promotional and marketing actions with the ambitious objective, stated by Mr. Huguet, of doubling this budget by 2015.