An event was held at lunchtime today at the Port of Palamós to present the Costa Brava Proximity Tourism Stimulation Campaign promoted by Moventis Sarfa in partnership with the Costa Brava-Girona Tourist Board of Girona Provincial Council and 20 municipalities on the Costa Brava: Cadaqués, Calonge, Castell-Platja d’Aro, Castelló d’Empúries-Empuriabrava, el Port de la Selva, Figueres, Girona, la Bisbal d’Empordà, l’Escala, Llançà, Lloret de Mar, Palafrugell, Palamós, Pals, Roses, Sant Feliu de Guíxols, Santa Cristina d’Aro, Torroella de Montgrí-el Estartit and Tossa de Mar.
The event was attended by Miquel Martí y Escursell, Chairman of Moventia; Miquel Noguer, President of Girona Provincial Council and the Costa Brava-Girona Tourist Board; Lluís Puig, Mayor of Palamós; and Damià Calvet, Councillor for Regional Affairs and Sustainability of the Regional Government of Catalonia.
During the presentation, Miquel Noguer said that “this campaign stems from a series of partnerships and synergies between the private and public sectors. It encourages mobility on public transport and highlights the partnerships being forged to attract visitors and promote tourism on the Costa Brava”. He went on to add that the Costa Brava-Girona Tourist Board is making “its strongest effort ever” to promote tourism in proximity markets. He concluded by saying that “we now have an opportunity to focus on our local audience and show them the natural, landscape, cultural and tourist attractions and values they can enjoy close to home”.
Councillor Damià Calvet explained that certain destinations have been compromised by the pandemic this year and that “the campaign being launched today is calling on safe and exciting local tourism to take up the baton. We are all ready to welcome these tourists. Local councils as the destinations, the regional government as mobility guarantor and our ports as providers of sailing and sports tourism. All this will help reactivate Catalonia”.
Miquel Martí said “at Moventis Sarfa, a one-hundred-year-old company with strong roots in this region, we are promoting and strongly welcome this understanding as yet another demonstration of the excellent results that can be obtained from public-private partnerships. In a situation such as this, we should all be pulling in the same direction to offer a service with the highest standards of quality for travellers, as demonstrated by the APPLUS+ seal of quality on Hygiene and Control Protocols and the ICTE Tourism seal of quality. If we all work together, we will also ensure that the number of visitors to the Costa Brava increases this season, synonymous with proximity tourism and quality at home”.
Lluís Puig said “we should congratulate ourselves because, in these difficult times and with the tourist season dependent on an uncertain health situation, we are joining forces to work together on stimulating our coastline, committing to a tourism campaign that focuses on landscapes but also recognises the work undertaken by the sector at large, which is represented by our tourism companies, which constantly strive for excellence, guaranteeing the Costa Brava as a safe destination, with the highest quality of service and all the necessary health requirements in place”.
The event was also attended by mayors and councillors from the 20 local council authorities taking part in the campaign, members of the Girona Provincial Council, senior members of the Regional Government of Catalonia and other representatives from local society and businesses around Girona.
A two-pronged promotion and communication campaign
The campaign aims to encourage mobility on public transport for proximity tourism and raise the profile of the Costa Brava brand throughout the region where the passenger transport company has been operating for close on 100 years. At the same time, it is an initiative aimed at creating ties, a sense of belonging and regional unity through participation by the main local council authorities in the area.
It is specifically targeted at inhabitants of the metropolitan area of Barcelona; some three million potential users. Moventis connects the regions of La Selva, El Alt Empordà and El Baix Empordà in Girona with Barcelona and the airports of Barcelona and Girona, as well as numerous towns throughout Girona. In 2019, it carried close on 2.5 million passengers. As from this year, passengers will be able to access a new website that is faster and more efficient for timetable information and to buy tickets. The company has also obtained APPLUS+ certification on Hygiene and Control Protocols and the ICTE Tourism seal of quality.
Under the slogan “T’esperem amb il·lusió. Vine a la Costa Brava (We look forward to seeing you. Come to the Costa Brava)”, a fleet of 20 Moventis buses will travel around Catalonia showing 20 iconic images of the municipalities in Girona taking part in the campaign.
The campaign is accompanied by radio ads that will feature participating local councils in a spot linked to the ‘Via Lliure’ programme on Rac1 during the weekends in July and August. Using interviews with municipal representatives, they will be used to raise the profile of the values and tourist attractions, gastronomy and landscapes to be enjoyed in each town covered by the initiative.
Additional actions will take place on social media to communicate content related to the campaign. The Costa Brava Proximity Tourism Stimulation Campaign promoted by Moventis Sarfa is an unprecedented action stemming from the coronavirus crisis and supported by the public authorities. The initiative clearly demonstrates the strength of the Catalan business sector and the unified approach being taken to reactive the country’s society and economy.