The Catalan Tourist Board held an intimate event for Travel Trade and Media in Sydney this week, at Catalan restaurant Parlar, to launch for the first time in Australia, “The Grand Tour of Catalonia”, a new product designed to appeal to travellers visiting Catalonia with their friends and families.
The Grand Tour of Catalonia is a journey that explores the area from north to south and east to west through a 2000km circular 13-day road trip itinerary.
The epic road trip allows visitors to discover and immerse themselves in Catalonia’s main attractions in terms of heritage, nature wine and food and encounter its people, customs and traditions.
It’s also a tour cleverly designed on the basis of the sustainable tourism model that drives the diversified and high-quality tourism distributed in a balanced way throughout the territory, allowing the destination to be discovered in all seasons and highlighting its accessibility to all.
The event also coincided with FC Barcelona travelling to Australia for the first time in its history to play a friendly match on Wednesday evening, against a selection of the best players from the Australian soccer league, the A-Leagues All-Stars at the Accor Stadium in Sydney.
This was a historic match for the Club as no professional or amateur Barça team in any sport has ever played a match on Australian soil before.
Speaking at the event, David Miró, Asia – Pacific Regional Director, Catalan Tourist Board said “We are thrilled to be in Australia to launch for the first time outside of Europe, the Grand Tour of Catalonia.
This really is a tour designed for Australian travellers interested in authentic manifestations of local culture, as well as the traditions, customs, landscapes and gastronomy of each area. Catalonia is a responsible tourism destination with over 30% of the region being protected”
“It is also a wonderful opportunity to showcase our incredible alliance with FC Barcelona in conjunction with the match played yesterday evening. This alliance truly supports our aims to position Catalonia as one of the best destinations in the Mediterranean,” said Miro.
Also featuring at the event was an Australian family who showcased their road trip experience of Catalonia.
As the event came to a close David Miro announced he will be leaving Catalan Tourist Board in September after 24 incredible years and will be handing the reigns over to Raül Guerra, the incoming Asia Pacific Regional Director who introduced himself and welcomed all the guests by live zoom.
“I would like to take this opportunity to thank the Australian Travel Trade and Media for all their support during my time in this role.
“We are very proud of the strong partnerships we have developed in this market, which have resulted in pre-pandemic, welcoming approximately 200,000 Australian visitors to Catalonia across a twelve-month period. We now look forward to being back in Australian hearts and welcoming them back to our region soon,” said Miro.
For more on Catalonia, head to grandtour.catalunya.com