Passeig de Gràcia is touted in the Middle East

As part of its promotion strategy to markets that were not usually specifically addressed and which have great potential for the level of customer spending, the Passeig de Gràcia Association is conducting an intensive action in the Middle East which has reached its third year in a row.

If in 2018 there were several business visits with a small group of companies and in 2019 the Association participated in the first Roadshow Middle East organized by Catalonia Premium -which included commercial visits to four cities: Doha, Kuwait City, Dubai and Abu Dhabi- this year all very creative workshops were held in places like the beach and the desert. In all actions, Emirates Holidays has been assisted, which has ensured great success in the calls.

In addition, for the first time, five cities have been included instead of four. Another novelty has been to include Saudi Arabia instead of Qatar; Thus, the actions have been held in Kuwait City, Ryadh, Jeddah, Dubai and Abu Dahbi. Despite their small size, the per capita income of Kuwait and Saudi Arabia is the highest in the world.

In recent years, the cruise industry has grown rapidly, which has greatly benefited Barcelona as a destination; one example is the Norwegian cruise ship launched by Emirates Holidays, which departs from Barcelona. On the other hand, shopping is still the main incentive for tourism from these countries.

One aspect that was highlighted in these workshops, especially in Kuwait and Saudi Arabia, is the importance attached to international hotel brands, which is a challenge -in promotion and internationalization- for some of the hotels of the Passeig de Gràcia Association who do not belong to international chains. A positive assessment was also given of the Halal certification of all hotels in Passeig de Gràcia  de Gracia and the fact that in all of them there was a member of staff who speaks Arabic.