At Barcelona Provincial Council, we advocate sustainable and responsible tourism. Our objective is to improve the competitiveness of the tourist services and destinations in the province of Barcelona in order to achieve a model of responsible tourism based on the principles of environmental, economic and socio-cultural sustainability.
In 2019, the Barcelona Provincial Council became the second destination in the world to become a Biosphere Certified Gold Destination, a distinction with which the Institute of Responsible Tourism acknowledges the sustainability of tourism and work to extend this commitment to the tourism-related companies and services in the destination. This goal is embodied in the Commitment to Tourist Sustainability Counties of Barcelona Biosphere programme, which, aligned with the seventeen Sustainable Development Goals (SDGs) of the United Nations, promotes good practices with regard to the sustainability of the work of the travel agents of the tourist brands in the province of Barcelona: Costa Barcelona, Barcelona Landscapes and Barcelona Pyrenees. In 2022 it went one step further and Destination Barcelona became the first tourist destination in the world to become a Biosphere Certified Platinum Destination, which not only acknowledges the desire of the administration to ensure that companies make sustainable efforts, but also incorporates them as its own and implements the good practices that it promotes.
Goals
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To extend the culture of tourism-related sustainability to destinations, residents, tourists, companies and tourist services in the counties of Barcelona. -
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To publicise the implementation of improvement processes by Barcelona Provincial Council with the Biosphere Certification and by local destinations, companies and tourist services with the Commitment to Tourism Sustainability Counties of the Barcelona Biosphere programme. -
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To capture the demand for responsible tourism by means of product creation and marketing strategies aligned with the seventeen SDGs, allowing for the selection of target audiences and source markets sensitive to sustainability.
Featured actions
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A seal that distinguishes destinations and sustainable tourism companies in accordance with criteria aligned with the seventeen SDGs. In the province of Barcelona, the Costa Barcelona, Barcelona Landscapes and Barcelona Pyrenees tourism brands have obtained the certification, as well as the municipalities of Sitges and Vilafranca del Penedès. -
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A programme that promotes responsible and respectful management of the environment and culture and the social and economic return of the tourist operators of the tourist brands in the province of Barcelona. -
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Proposals and resources for enjoying and respecting our territory by means of ethical and sustainable tourism.
Sustainable tourism in data
Measurement and comparison of the tourist activity of 33 destinations in the province of Barcelona (not counting El Barcelonès) in the three dimensions of sustainability (economic, socio-cultural and environmental), with the aim of improving the efficiency of the processes for the territorial management of tourism. Research project undertaken by Barcelona Provincial Council and the University of Barcelona, with the participation of the University School of Hospitality and Tourism (CETT-UB).
General report 2019
Directory of companies and entities in the counties of Barcelona accredited with the Biosphere seal, classified by type of establishment, municipality and region.
Annual compilation of the main indicators of tourist activity in the counties of Barcelona.
Analysis of tourism sustainability in Destination Barcelona conducted by the Barcelona Tourism Observatory: city and region
Main analytical reports of the Tourism Laboratory of Barcelona Provincial Council on tourism in the province of Barcelona.
European projects
Created in 2016 within the framework of the Interreg MED programme, the Sustainable Tourism Community of the Mediterranean seeks to turn tourism into a real driving force of inclusive and sustainable growth. The Barcelona Provincial Council leads this project, which encompasses more than twenty projects co-financed by the European Regional Development Fund, with nearly three hundred organisations active in twelve coastal areas of the European Mediterranean.
Online resources
