British tourism set to increase in 2014
From 4th to 7th November, the Costa Brava Girona Tourist Board, the municipalities of Castell-Platja d’Aro, Lloret de Mar and Blanes, together with tourism companies from the area, including Viajes Bravasol, Traveltec, Traditional Tours, Viajes Olympia and Novovira, took part in the 34th WTM (World Travel Market), the most important professional tourism fair in Europe, where from the Catalonia stand they presented the tourism offering of the Costa Brava and the Girona Pyrenees.
The fair served as a showcase for tourism products such as golf, nature and active tourism, food and wine tourism, and health and wellness.
The Girona delegation met with British tour operators specialising in hiking, who announced their intention to market new hiking trails in the Girona Pyrenees and in the county of Cerdanya, as well as promoting the stretch of the Way of Saint James from Sant Pere de Rodes to Montserrat, targeting British hiking enthusiasts, among other segments.
According to data published by the Business and Employment Observatory, 1,600,000 tourists from Great Britain visited Catalonia in 2012, 26% up on 2011, while the figure registered for the first nine months of 2013 is 1,400,000, an increase of 5% in respect of the same period in 2012. It is estimated that 30% of the British tourists who have visited Catalonia have chosen the Costa Brava as their main holiday destination.
The inbound travel agencies taking part in the WTM 2013 forecast that the Costa Brava and Girona Pyrenees destination will continue to enjoy steady growth in the number of visitors from Great Britain in 2014.