Archives

Good level of occupancy in Lloret with the increase in sports tourism

Lloret’s sports facilities will be displaying the “fully booked” sign throughout April thanks to the many sports events being held over the course of the month, including sports camps and official competitions. A total of 16,000 sports tourists will visit Lloret: 10,858 sports people and more than 4,400 companions.

A total of 15,386 sports people and more than 7,000 companions have visited the town since the start of the year, proof of the consolidation sports tourism in the low and mid season.

According to Joan Bernat, Councillor for Sport, “The organisers of these events are extremely loyal. For example, the TravelSports agency, which organises the Sant Jaume Trophy, brings 1,280 sports people and 1,000 companions to Lloret and has been holding its competition in the city for more than 30 years.”

Other competitions that will take place are the Costa Brava Beach Ultimate & Freestyle International Tournament, now in its 13th year, with 300 participants; the MIC (Mediterranean International Cup) international youth football tournament, with 4,500 participants (of whom 1,000 will be staying in Lloret); the 8th Town of Lloret International Handball Tournament, with 450 participants; or the training camps of athletics clubs from different countries, with over 500 participants in total.

The spotlight will also be on basketball in the coming days thanks to the traditional Eurobasket tournament, with 350 participants; the very first MIC Basketball international youth basketball tournament, with 300 participants; and the Globasket event, which will bring together more than 1,400 participants from 22 countries.

The sports tourists mainly come from Nordic countries and stay in establishments such as the Guitart Central Park Aqua Resort, Hotel Samba, Hotel Maria del Mar, Hotel Anabel or the Evenia Olympic Resort. As Joan Bernat points out, “The fact that we have 20 certified sports tourism hotels is highly valued.”

Lloret de Mar has been a certified Sports Tourism Destination for football, athletics, cycling, swimming and team sports since 2006.

In 2016, over 51,000 sports tourists travelled to the destination; specifically, 31,369 sports people and 19,641 companions. There has been a significant increase in the number of sports events held in 2016 (359) in respect of 2015 (240). These 359 events comprised 281 sports camps, 46 private tournaments, 11 official competitions, 14 local competitions and 7 other events. Joan Bernat adds, “And there’s still plenty of room for growth in the area of outdoor sports tourism. This year we’re working on adding running to the list of certified sports and on improving the road cycling and mountain biking product.”

Lloret Turisme makes a strategic commitment to cycle touring

Lloret de Turisme has incorporated a specific cycle touring action plan within its annual action plan for 2017 through which it aims to showcase and boost the structuring of this product in the municipality.

The action plan includes the definition of 15 mountain biking and road cycling routes, the incorporation of the corresponding circuits, the creation of audio-visual material, the production of a comprehensive booklet with all the information cyclists need (routes, distances, elevation gains and losses, points of interest and associated services, etc.) and the design of a specific microsite. Furthermore, Lloret is taking part in four of the leading fairs for this sports tourism segment in 2017: the Fahrrad & Erlebnis-Reisen fair in Stuttgart (January), the Sea Otter Europe Bike Show in Girona (June), the Eurobike Show in Friedrichshafen, Germany (end of August/early September) and the Unibike Show in Madrid (September).

It’s worth highlighting that 2017 has been declared the Year of the Bicycle by the Costa Brava Girona Tourist Board, an initiative aimed at promoting the product as part of its action plan.

Lloret de Mar has held the Sports Tourism certification of the Catalan Tourist Board since 2006 and is currently certified for five sports: football, team sports, athletics, swimming and cycling.

Furthermore, the destination now boasts 26 hotels certified by the Catalan Tourist Board as sports tourism establishments, of which 15 hold the specific cycle touring certification: Gran Hotel Monterrey, Acacias Suites & Spa, Fenals Garden, Acapulco, Costa Encantada, Evenia Olympic Suites, Evenia Olympic Garden, Evenia Olympic Park, Evenia Olympic Palace, Gran Garbí, Guitart Gold Central Park, H TOP Royal Star, Maria del Mar, Samba and Xaine Park.

Over the course of 2016, especially during the period from January to June, more than 1,400 cyclists stayed in Lloret de Mar and this year the hotels of Lloret already have firm bookings for more than 1,000 cyclists, nearly all of whom are French.

According to Elizabeth Keegan, Director of Lloret Turisme, “This year we’re keen to promote the sport since it still has huge potential for growth in Lloret de Mar and is a great way to reduce the seasonal nature of tourism in the destination. In other disciplines the availability of sports facilities in the municipality may represent a stumbling block but this factor doesn’t affect cycling since cyclists don’t need to book any of our facilities.”

Lloret de Mar hosts a series of promotional events to showcase its tourism products

A familiarisation trip for agencies specialising in cycling activities, a press trip for a South Korean docu-series and a cultural blog trip have taken place over the last few days

Lloret Turisme, the tourism promotion body of Lloret de Mar, has been pressing ahead with its promotional initiatives, in this case mainly aimed at showcasing the destination’s offering beyond sun and sand, and at progressing towards reducing the seasonal nature of tourism.

Lloret Turisme has hosted a fam trip aimed at German travel agents specialised in cycling activities, organised by the Catalan Tourism Agency with the goal of showcasing the options in the area for cycling tourism, which has experienced steady growth in recent years.

Certified since 2006 as a Sports Tourism Destination, Lloret de Mar is one of the best-prepared destinations on the Costa Brava for welcoming groups of cyclists, with a specific offering that includes 13 specialised hotels two of which are currently undergoing the certification process), which offer parking, maintenance and cleaning services for bicycles and customised menus for sports people.

Yesterday, Lloret de Mar also hosted a press trip formed by a group of thirty people working on a docu-series presented by Mina Sohn, a well-known former television presenter and now a best-selling travel writer. The documentary is about fifteen hard-up young people who are given the opportunity to travel abroad for the first time and share their experiences. During their stay in Lloret de Mar they walked along the coastal footpath, visited Santa Clotilde Gardens and tried some Catalan cuisine. They were also invited to a daiquiri tasting, where they heard about the history of the americanos (immigrants from Lloret who returned home from the Americas having made their fortune).

Meanwhile, yesterday Lloret also hosted a press trip for “Il Reporter”, one of the ten most influential travel bloggers in Italy and winner of the Lonely Planet “Best Italian Travel Blog” award. His blog, which focuses on culture and nature, receives over 30,000 visits every month and his social network profiles have over 10,000 followers. During his stay in Lloret de Mar he visited Santa Clotilde Gardens and the modernist cemetery.

Turning to MICE tourism, the Lloret Convention Bureau has hosted a business tourism fam trip for ten MICE travel agencies from all over Europe. The fam trip has been organised as part of Meet Catalunya, a multi-market one-day conference organised by the Catalunya Convention Bureau and held at the facilities of Caves Codorniu. Over the course of the day, the Lloret Convention Bureau, together with other companies from the MICE tourism sector in the Girona area, had the chance to market its offering to the over 60 agencies taking part.

L’empresa sueca Korpen, especialitzada en organitzar lligues esportives, confirma un dels seus esdeveniments a Lloret de Mar

Korpen, una empresa especialitzada en organitzar lligues de diferents disciplines esportives, va realitzar recentment una visita de prospecció a Lloret de Mar, de la mà del Lloret Convention Bureau, a fi de conèixer l’oferta de la destinació en el segment de turisme de reunions i esportiu. Durant la visita, els més de 30 professionals de Korpen que van viatjar a Lloret, varen poder conèixer les instal·lacions de l’àrea esportiva, l’oferta d’allotjament propera i especialitzada en acollir participants d’esdeveniments i reunions, restaurants amb gran capacitat per a l’organització de sopars de gala i altres espais singulars de la població.

Fruit d’aquesta visita de prospecció, l’empresa Korpen ja ha confirmat un esdeveniment de l’1 al 5 de maig del 2016 que comptarà amb 550 participants provinents de Suècia, i serà una primera presa de contacte de cara a poder ampliar les seves accions a Lloret de Mar en un futur proper.

Aquest any, el Lloret Convention Bureau està apostant fort pel posicionament de la destinació com a MICE&Sports, una demanda que s’ha detectat que té especial valor en els països nòrdics i escandinaus, on s’aprecia la proximitat de les instal·lacions, la bona relació qualitat-preu i la climatologia de Lloret de Mar tant per l’àmbit esportiu com MICE.

Per altra banda, l’auditori Palau de Congressos Olympic va acollir el cap de setmana passat les III Jornades Científiques de Tècnics Superiors Sanitaris que va comptar amb uns 200 participants i que es va centrar en el diagnòstic i investigació de malalties rares i minoritàries. L’Associació Professional de Tècnics Superiors Sanitaria de Catalunya (FETESS) ha repetit seu ja que l’any 2013 ja va escollir Lloret de Mar per a les seves primeres jornades.

Lloret de Mar hosts a sports event for a multinational pharmaceutical company

Lloret de Mar is gradually strengthening its positioning as a MICE tourism destination; last week, in addition to the Forum of Excellence that brought together business, social and academic leaders, the city also hosted the international gathering of a renowned international pharmaceutical company.

Over 800 workers attended this MICE & Sports event, which consisted of professional training sessions for delegates at the Evenia Olympic Resort combined with sports activities aimed at fostering teamwork, of which one of the highlights was a football tournament held at the Top Ten Tordera facility.

Jordi Orobitg, Councillor for Tourism, explained, “Lloret caters specifically for both MICE and sports tourism, which makes it a very attractive destination for organisers who wish to combine the two elements.” He added, “Companies are attaching more and more importance to strengthening values such as teamwork, leadership, team spirit and trust among their workers, and sport is an excellent medium for working on these values.”