Catalonia - Art and Culture 2018

2018: THE YEAR OF CULTURAL TOURISM

On 27 April 2016, the European Parliament took the decision to name 2018 the “European Year of Cultural Heritage”. The main purpose of this designation is to raise citizens’ awareness regarding the history and values of Europe and to strengthen their feeling of identity. The Government of Catalonia takes on this European declaration as an opportunity to claim the role of culture and cultural heritage, both tangible and intangible, as a key factor that makes destinations in Catalonia different and unique. Regarding tourism, the Catalan Tourist Board draws on this focus on culture in 2018 and has declared 2018 to be the “Year of Cultural Tourism”, in order to position culture as the main axis of distinction of the destination, and at the same time to help tourism give value to culture and contribute to its social and economic sustainability. This is a two-way challenge in which culture enhances the distinctiveness of the cultural tourist attractions, and tourism contributes to the promotion of culture. This year, the objective is to place value on all cultural heritage, both the most internationally recognised heritage and the lesser known local heritage. In this way, the tourist board recognises that cultural heritage can be found throughout Catalonia, and there is an attempt to find balance between the different areas of Catalonia to ensure that the economic flows derived from cultural tourism reach all areas of the territory throughout the year. All of this effort is invested so that visitors can get to know the cultural treasures of Catalonia more and more. The hope is that they will be able to experience and enjoy all of the sights and activities that Catalonia has to offer.

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