DESTINATION CATALUNYA, SPAIN

Barcelona is more than the super football team of Campo Nou. This city, for example, is not like champagne. Even after you open it, it continues to bubble and sparkle, like a perpetuum mobile of hospitality, culture, gastronomy and pleasant surprises.

The Rambla, "Barça's" pleasant boulevard for strollers, runs past the old part of the city, the Barrio Gotico: a delight for the eye and for culture fans. Antonio Gaudi coloured the city with his Art Nouveau architectural style characterised by almost insane ideas, such as the Parc Guëll, where he wanted to build an expensive rich man's paradise. Unfortunately for him and for the investor, there was only one candidate, but the result was a fascinating and peaceful park above the city centre.

Gaudi also invested in the next world, for work continues diligently on his cathedral, the Sagrada Familia. Visitors' fees should suffice to finance completion of the church, which could take place 78 years after his death in 1927.

On the other side of the Parc Guëll rises Montjuïc, site of the 1992 Olympic Games. The rather beautiful Joan Miro Museum is another attraction on this steep hill. Barcelona is indeed a city with the boldness to invest in great initiatives and daring architecture.

After the Olympics, Barcelona enjoyed its status as European Cultural Capital.

The WTC will be modernized and greatly expanded. The Fira de Barcelona will soon have 340,000 m2 of space at its disposal. At the same time, work will begin on Forum 2004, a large-scale project that will run for six months, from April to October. A meeting hall with room for no fewer than 15,000 people will be built for this purpose. And there will also be plenty of beds: this year, 28 new hotels with 3,005 rooms opened! Another 3,231 will be added next year. Barcelona will host EIBTM from 2004 to 2008, after edging out 10 other candidates. EIBTM will attract 10,000 visitors, professionals for MICE organisations, from every continent. No problem for "Barça," which was the number one host city worldwide for international congresses in 2003. Convention-goers automatically receive the "Congress Card Barcelona," offering discounts on dozens of attractions and services.

THE REGION OF CATALUNYA

Barcelona is the capital of the equally dynamic region of Catalunya (Catalonia). This autonomous region has in any case more to offer than "costas" for sun seekers. Last year, the region attracted 34,000 participants to 380 fairs, along with another 12 million visitors.

Lleida offers, not a coast, but the majesty of the mountains, the tranquillity of the plains and the charm of its castles. This city does not yet have any large exhibition or conference centre. A centre with room for 2,000 is being built near the AVE (Spanish high-speed train) station. Lleida, a green destination with the highest peak in the Pyrenees, is a growing attraction for MICE tourism. All-terrain vehicles meet clients at the airport and those who wish to can take a trip along the mountainside in an old steam train. The distance from the beaches of the Costa Daurada and Barcelona is negligible.

Cristina Soria and Marta Suarez of the Tarragona Convention Bureau

Beautiful Tarragona, with its Reus airport. Thomas Cook charters land here, but for those who choose other carriers, Barcelona Airport is only 40 minutes away. Tarragona is both a green city and a shopping destination. It is also the capital of Art Nouveau and the lovely Priorat wine. The winding Ebro delta lies nearly, and the Prades nature park offers numerous opportunities for adventurous cycling or canoe trips. The Cistercian Route with its three unique monasteries runs through the province of Tarragona. New top-class hotels are springing up, and even the popular nearby beach town of Salou offers a convention centre with 650 places. Tarragona is actually the best Spanish city in which to celebrate an event: it is the birthplace of Cava, Spain's sparkling answer to champagne.

Eva Juncà and Cristina Cots of the Girona Convention Bureau


The least well-known area is probably Girona -- a place full of surprises. You can fly here on Virgin Airlines via "Barça" or directly with Ryanair (you can have a good meal once you arrive). Warning: Ryanair is currently more expensive than Virgin. The Girona airport is new and a large convention centre is under construction. Girona is a sporty region, with the Empuria Brava marina, one of the largest, opportunities for equestrian show jumping and skiing in the eastern part of the province. Golfers will feel very much at home here: the international association of tour operators voted Girona as number one for golf! Big hotels are no problem, but the "Petits Grans Hotels," with a prescribed maximum of 12 rooms, are much more authentic and attractive. A new and charming hotel group that has renovated old farmhouses for purposes of hospitality.

Not far from this provincial capital lies Cadaques and the sea of Portlligat, where Salvador Dali achieved his final surrealist visions in the face of the reality of death.

The "Generalitat" of Catalunya, the regional government, has described the autonomous region in only five words -- adventure, wonder, surprise, relaxation, thrills -- but got it exactly right.

Mr. Robert Vereecke/ A Top Travel & Incentives, Mr. Ian Gonzalez/Accent Events, Mr. Luc Sermeus/Carlson Wagonlit Travel, Mr. Jean-Paul Grégoire/Credit Agricole, Ms. Maryse Sadoine/Millipore, Mr. Olivier Binet/Passport Destination, Ms. Zara Mekahli/Pharmodontal, Mr. Candido Fernandez/Voyages Europe Vacances, Ms. Anita Van Gansen/Yum!Restaurants International, Ms. Karin de Graauw/BBT Online, Mr. Walter Vaerewyck/Business Travel Magazine, Ana Escarpenter/Turisme de Catalunya, Mrs. Montse Rovira/Turisme de Catalunya

Ms. Petra Bose/Capricorn Incentives, Mr. Adriaan Deurloo/Eventive, Mrs. A.Aslan/Forum, Mrs. Helen Leurs/Holland Destination Travel Service, Mrs. Ida Kranenburg/IKB Consultancy, Mr. Theodore Kwaaitaal/Imago Business Events, Mrs. A.H.S. Gruben/Stavoor Group, Mrs. Yvonne van Velzen/Winnemuller Reizen, Mr. Andre van den Berg/Xcentive, Kees Hundepool/Zakenreis

The Belgium and Dutch incentive houses, which Ana Escarpenter, director of the Catalan Tourist Board in Belgium, invited for a visit in June to Technomeeting, can only endorse this description.

Info:
Turisme de Catalunya
Tel +32(0)2-640 61 51
ctb1.catalunya@easynet.be