Barcelona is sold in Madrid as the “best Christmas destination in southern Europe”

The two heads of a train of the AVE wrapped in vinyl paper with the message “Barcelona opens Christmas. Will you come“and a great Christmas star type ‘trencadís’ attracted powerfully attention this Tuesday on the exit routes of the Atocha station. But beyond the first impact, the promotional action made history and it marked the sign of the new times of pandemic, as it was the first time that Barcelona sells itself as Christmas destination in Madrid. The significant movement made by the Catalan capital is aimed at the national traveler, but also from neighboring European countries, and represents a great effort for the reactivation of a sector still very affected by the health crisis.

The decoration of a train (which will daily link cities linked by high speed) is just one of the images of the recently activated campaign, which will also feature 30,000 heads on the AVE seats, advertisements on the trains and others, on the occasion of the agree with Renfe, what happened to be the Barcelona’s official transport this Christmas, opening a way to more collaborations.

Barcelona tourism and the town hall they turn, finally hand in hand, in the reconquest of the National tourism, which in 2019 already only accounted for 15% of the total in Barcelona before the enormous international power of the city. But the restrictions on mobility between countries, once again in check due to the increase in infections, makes the weight of Spanish tourism strategic and worthy of reconquest. Marian Muro, director of the consortium, It is clear that pampering this market cannot be only temporary and aspires that in 2022, with “effort” it will represent a 20% from the cake. And that then does not decline.

New story and new audiences

The promotion of the Christmas campaign comes at a time when the Colau council has made a clear change of chip regarding the celebration. After disparaging Christmas festivities for some years, he seems to have become aware of their importance in the city ​​projection and its economy, as claimed by the local economic sectors and opposition groups. The municipality has taken advantage of this turn to put together a new “story” of the Christmas town, which passes through the creativity, design and the attempt to provide differential value.

Precisely, the general director of Tourism of Barcelona, ​​Marian Muro, has transmitted to the AVE tracks in Madrid that idea that Barcelona premieres “a Christmas that has not been seen before”, with “new content and offers” that invite you to refresh anybody’s memories of a previous trip to the city. The ‘spot‘which will be broadcast on trains and on social networks, among others, influences that idea. A couple evokes their meeting in the Catalan capital and their memories distorted by the passage of time, visiting both icons, until they conclude that they should be given away “new memories”.

These new experiences range from the new lighting that Barcelona is finally championing (with its epicenter in Plaça de Catalunya and a story that includes design, creativity and sustainability), to the renewed cultural offer, which goes from the recently inaugurated MOCO museum of modern and contemporary art to the premiere of the star that will crown the Torre de María de la Holy Family as of December 8.

The curator of the Christmas cultural activity of Barcelona, ​​Oriol Martí, has advanced that the programming for this December, based on the creativity and the universal iconography of Christmas in all its western “aesthetics”, will include daily in Plaça de Catalunya ‘films‘about the vision of this tradition from the eyes of various filmmakers, a hundred of concerts musicals (of all styles) throughout the city, a special installation in the Plaza de la Universitat and light displays such as the one recently inaugurated at the Hospital de Sant Pau and another to be held in the Pedralbes monastery.

Links with the capital

An argument that should encourage getaways to Barcelona and will expose all its offer and the possible reservation of tickets through the link Visitbarcelona, in addition to the claims of shopping and gastronomy. Precisely, the Councilor for Tourism, Xavier Marcé, it has tried to invite positivism, posing recovery as a new opportunity. The city council wants to “encourage the greatest number of people to come to visit us.” “It is important to do this in Madrid“, he stressed, distancing himself from” those who try to confront us “, since the mayor is convinced that the two cities are a hub and share synergies.” What happens here does not stop happening there “and vice versa, he said, recalling that the train allows to bring Barcelona closer – in the most sustainable way – to the entire State through Madrid. “We must make the relationship grow,” he insisted.

The alliance between Barcelona and Renfe, stressed its president Isaías Táboas, he still has to give much more. “It is one of the most profitable corridors in the company,” he highlighted, and he still has many “expectations of growing in the tourism segment”, and beyond the business segment. The head of Renfe has recalled that 50 of the 60 million international travelers on the peninsula travel the areas connected by the AVE.

For the Spanish capital, the hotel occupancy figures seem better in the short term – this next bridge, without going any further and as this newspaper reported last Sunday – because the weight of the international traveler was much lower in its balance before the pandemic. But Muro hopes to win Spanish travelers this December, given the quality of the proposal. Last year, with hardly any international movement, the public from the rest of the country accounted for 66% of the visitors, although throughout this year the proportions have been normalizing and now the proportion is inverse, with more weight of foreigners.

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In this campaign, it is expected that if circumstances allow it, countries such as Italia, France and United Kingdom add 25% of the quota for Christmas. It should be remembered that Barcelona currently receives a third of the usual volume of travelers at this time, as is the case with major international destinations.

Muro has detailed that the campaign focuses above all on travelers from 35 to 65 years old, wanting to travel these holidays, to whom a “known” city is offered but with different things. The target segment is of medium-high or high socioeconomic profile and cultural interests, lover of the Barcelona lifestyle.