A region of Spain filled with religious tourism sites, general manager, Catalan Tourist Board (CTB), Xavier Espasa explains to Panayiotis Markides how Catalonia is working to entice more travellers.
TTG: How are you promoting your destination to religious travellers (of all faiths)?
From Catalonia, CTB promotes religious tourism across three strategic areas.
Firstly, some of the great European religious routes crosses Catalonia, such as the Way of Saint Jaimes, Route of Sefarad – routes of the Jewish quarters and Cistercian route; as well as the spanish route the Ignatian Way. The Catalan Tourist Board promotes these three routes through presentations to tour operators and media, performing media and familiarisation trips, and spreading them across tourists through our offices abroad.
Secondly, some of the great religious highlights in southern Europe are located in Catalonia, such as the Sagrada Familia, the Monastery of Montserrat or the Cathedrals of Tarragona and Barcelona. Although these highlights promote themselves, the CTB supports the promotion and marketing of these monuments through press and familiarisation trips, organising workshops where they are invited, and presentations that work as our best sales arguments.
Finally, Catalan bishops have recently launched the project ‘Catalonia Sacra’, which aims to present the most unknown architectural and artistic heritage linked to the Catholic Church in Catalonia. The CTB supports this initiative, helping them to structure a special offer for tourists and to spread it.
TTG: Please share a list of popular religious attractions?
La Sagrada Familia (UNESCO World Heritage Site), the Cathedral of Barcelona, the Monastery of Pedralbes and the Church of Santa Maria del Mar are the most important attractions of Barcelona.
The Monastery of Montserrat is the most important in the province of Barcelona.
The most visited religious facilities in the province of Girona include the Monastery of Sant Pere de Rodes, the Sanctuary of Nuria and the Treasury of the Cathedral of Girona.
Regarding the province of Tarragona, tourists are interested in the Monastery of Santa Maria de Poblet, the monastery of Santes Creus and the Tarragona Cathedral.
And finally, Romanesque churches of the Vall de Boi, a UNESCO heritage site, are a must in the province of Lleida.
However, we must also take into account the large number of tourists who perform the pilgrimage routes of the Way of Saint Jaimes and the Ignatian Way, routes that pass through some of these highlights.
TTG: What measures are you taking to improve the experience for these travellers?
As for the major European routes, the CTB focuses its efforts on supporting to structure a complementary tourist offer (accommodation, restaurants etc.) for tourists who follow these routes.
In the case of religious highlights, the CTB works together with them to offer religious tourists a less crowded experience.
Finally, in the case of Catalonia Sacra, the CTB cooperates with this project in order to structure an offer that allows visitors to have a unique tourist and religious experience, such as a tour guide by a monk.
TTG: What are Catalonia’s main feeder markets for this sector?
Among the European markets, the most important are Italy and France, but the number of tourists from the United States, Southeast Asia and South America who visit Catalonia for religious reasons have increased in recent years.
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