Rural tourism is one of the big assests Spain can offer to its visitors./ Picture: A. Rubio.
Alberto Rubio. Madrid
“Tourism; gastronomical and oenological, health and wellbeing, sport, medical, cultural, snow, study, conference and business, cruise, cinematographical”… There are so many ways to travel and Spain can offer all these possibilities to a visitor, without this implying a rejection of the traditional tourism of sun and sea. It is a question of complimenting it with a range of offers that will be of interest to an ever more demanding clientele and, with more opportunities to choose in a global world.
In order to achieve this, Marisol Paul describes in “Everything new under the sun” an innovative panorama for the future of a strategic sector of the Spanish economy, to which it brings 11% of the GDP and which generates 12% of all employment. In 2013, more than 60 million foreigners arrived in Spain, which makes it the third most visited country in the world, behind France and the US. The author warns that, in spite of these encouraging figures, “the competition available in tourism activities has suffered in the last few years” because of the emergence of new destinations across the world, based on innovation.
The tradition offer is therefore not enough. Because of this, in the book are reflected the experiences and ideas of 25 businessmen involved in different facets of tourism. Ferrán Adriá (El Bulli), Ignacio Aguilera (Transmediterránea), Alejandro Aznar (Bodegas Marqués de Riscal) and Isabel Llorens y Carlota Mateos (Rusticae) are some of those who are opting for innovation as a means to attracting visitors. “The sum of all of these”, writes the author “makes up one of the greatest and most competitive tourist offers in the world”.
What can be done in order to surprise the visitor and instil in them a sense of loyalty? Tomás Osorne proposes gastronomy as a “battle horse” and encourages the “opening of the doors of the bodegas” to visitors. Rosa Oriol (Tous), on the other hand, backs quality designs, “luxury at affordable prices” in the field of jewellery, making the most of the fact that Spain is a country “perfect for visiting… and for shopping”.
“Everything new under the sun”, Grant Thornton’s initiative which was presented on Tuesday at the Reina Sofía Museum, sketches a portrait of the past, present, and above all, the future that awaits Spanish tourism if it backs innovation and quality. Marisol Paul concludes her work with a list of “ten challenges for change”, in which she calls for a new model “with greater diversification and added value” that complements and strengthens the tradition of sun and sea which, despite everything, “is still displaying robust poor health”.
