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Download file to see previous pages... This paper aims at discussing how the city of Barcelona has attempted to use events to pursue wider objectives in tourism. Rationale The tourism strategy in Barcelona aims at developing a tourism model that will ensure that a balance is maintained between the local residents and tourist. It also aims at maintaining the identity values of this particular city. One of the values that the strategy fights to keep is the rich culture. It also maintains the values that make it attracting all sorts of tourist ranging from those who are interested in sport events, cultural festivals, religious events, and many others. Background The city of Barcelona has on many occasions had a boost to its tourism industry as a result of international events. These events include the visit by Benedict the XVI, the Barcelona marathon, Formula 1 Gran Prix of Barcelona, the Aphrodite – Les Folies Tour, Barcelona 1992 Summer Olympics, Barcelona Open, La Merce Festivity, and the champion league finals. These events attracted thousands of visitors to the city of Barcelona and earned the city a lot of income. Benedict the XVI visit to Barcelona Pope Benedict XVI arrived in Barcelona on the 6th of November 2010. His mission to Barcelona was to preside over the consecration of Barcelona’s Cathedral La Sagrada Familia. During the visit, the Pope held a private meeting with the queen and king of Spain. The visit is believed to have generated a total income of about € 39 million to the city of Barcelona as a result of the activities that took place during the visit. More than half of this income is believed to have come from the expenditures of the visitors whose main attraction to Barcelona was the Pope’s visit. The income came from business activities such as transport, accommodation, shopping, restaurants, and many others (Smith 2012, p. 201). This event also played a very important role in marketing Barcelona as a tourist destination. The visitors who came specifically for the pope’s visit must have noticed the very many tourist attractions in Barcelona. Barcelona Marathon The city of Barcelona hosted the Barcelona Marathon of 2013. The marathon took place on the 17th of March 2013. The competition involved athletes from all over the world. The Barcelona Marathon first took place in the year 1980, and its fame has grown gradually over the years. In the year 2012 16, 743 athletes were registered for the marathon. During this marathon, city always gets lots of visitors who either come to participate in the event or just witness the event. Apart from being a tourist attraction by itself, it also helps allot in creating global awareness of the other tourist attractions in the city of Barcelona. Formula 1 Gran Prix Barcelona 2013 The city of Barcelona hosted the fifth Formula 1 Grand Prix of the season. These events took place in between the 10th and 12th of May 2013. During this event, the city received a lot of visitors from all over the world. Most of them were people who came specifically to experience the formula 1 event (Chalip and McGuirty2004, p. 272). This can mean that it generally increased the number of visitors that the city hosted in that year. This would mean that they also had an extra income because of this event. Other businesses such as accommodation and restaurants also benefited from this event. Income was also earned through the sales of tickets. Kylie Minogue in Barcelona Kylie Minogue is an internationally known ...Download file to see next pagesRead More