Digital census

31% of the tourism entities and companies in the Girona area have a presence in at least one social medium

The Patronat de Turisme Costa Brava Girona has carried out a census of the digital presence of the Girona tourism sector, split into subsections, with the goal of discovering the extent of the presence of the Girona tourism offer in social media. The Patronat wishes to monitor this digital presence in order to assist the sector in its activity, visibility and communications through promotional and communication tools and platforms.

5,256 entities and companies from the Girona tourism sector, split into 737 subsections, have been included in the digital census with the aim of discovering the extent of their presence in 12 social networks. The Professional sales guide of the Costa Brava and the Pirineu de Girona was the source used to carry out the qualitative analysis over a four-month period (April to July 2012). The methodology employed consisted of analysing each company on an individual basis and according to subsections.

The social networks analysed for the purpose of the census were Facebook, Flickr, Google+, Foursquare, Picasa, LinkedIn, Formspring, Pinterest, Twitter and Youtube, in addition to establishments with a blog and with a digital presence integrated within a joint corporate space.

The report highlights that of the 5,256 elements analysed, all included in the Professional sales guide of the Costa Brava and the Pirineu de Girona, 1,636 have a presence in at least one social medium. That is, 31% of the elements included in the database of the Patronat de Turisme have a presence in at least one social medium, while the remaining 69% have no social media presence. It is also clear that Facebook, Twitter and Youtube are the most frequently used networks by the Girona tourism sector in its digital promotion activities.

The census also produced other data of interest, such as the fact that hotels, rural accommodation establishments, hostels and health and beauty centres are the sub-sectors with the greatest integrated digital presence. In the sub-sectors of events and conferences, business, golf and pitch and putt, Twitter presence is equal to that of Facebook. The sub-sectors with the greatest amount of social media activity are restaurants that hold a seal of quality and health and beauty centres, while the sub-sector with the smallest presence are active tourism activities.

On the basis of the conclusions drawn from the report, the Patronat de Turisme will continue to foster the digital culture and to implement specific campaigns for the Girona tourism sector geared towards improving its competitiveness. These actions are focused on specific professional training, communication initiatives in social media and the organisation of blogtrips, together with the imminent holding of the TBEX conference in Girona and on the Costa Brava.