Urban Tourism World Summit meets in Barcelona

The third edition of this event provided an overview of the changes to tourism that come with smart, sustainable and inclusive cities.

Barcelona, which is now the fourth most popular European city in terms of the foreign tourists it receives, hosted the 3rd Global Summit on City Tourism on 9th and 10th December.

This event aims to provide a comprehensive view of the changes in urban tourism towards smart, sustainable and inclusive cities, and has as its slogan ” “New Paradigms in City Tourism Development”.

Some 450 professionals from all over the world discussed issues related to the patterns of urban tourism,  the positioning of the sector in the world market, sustainable development and effective management of the most popular destinations.

For a long time now Barcelona City Council has been committed to a model of responsible and sustainable tourism  with the aim of keeping a balance between the quality of life of the city’s inhabitants and the tourism business. Among other things, the city wants ensure that tourism is distributed throughout all districts rather than being concentrated in specific points.

Moreover, both the Diputació de Barcelona (Barcelona Provincial Council) and the Generalitat de Catalunya (Autonomous Government of Catalonia) want to establish a tourism model that also makes the most of areas close to the Catalan capital and is more sustainable in economic, social and environmental terms.