The great presence of commercial establishments in cities like Barcelona or Girona contrasts with the little support of the Administration. Despite the economic benefit of shopping tourism.
The importance of the commercial fabric in Catalonia has led to the creation of a new tool that offers useful information of the main commercial axes.
‘Center of Commercial Establishments of Catalonia’ is a document prepared by the Generalitat and the General Council of Cambres de Catalunya.
According to the census, Catalonia has 86,418 commercial enterprises and a total of 101,319 establishments. An economic fabric from which an average commercial density of 13.47 stores per thousand inhabitants is extracted. This figure exceeds cities such as Barcelona and Girona with more than 16 shops for every 1,000 residents.
In this context, the good health of shopping tourism is fundamental for the survival of a good number of shops. In fact, according to a recent study shops in the city of Barcelona must one in five euros to tourism. And its disappearance would lead to the closure of 1,200 of the commercial establishments.
An economic benefit worth protecting!
Business establishments in Catalonia
The census of the distribution of shops in the Catalan geography puts in value their role in the local economy. Especially in those cities with the greatest number of inhabitants. Those with more than 75,000 inhabitants.
Among them stands the city’s highest commercial density: Girona. With less than 100,000 inhabitants, Girona has 16.67 commercial establishments for every 1,000 residents. In addition to considerably large establishments (2,274 m2 / 1,000 inhabitants).
The second densest city is Barcelona, with 16.24 shops. And a total commercial area of 2.7 million square meters.
Not in vain, two of the major commercial hubs of Barcelona are among the three most exclusive in Spain. The Portal de l’Àngel (280 € / m2 per month) is the national leader and Paseo de Gracia (250 € / m2 per month) is third behind Calle Preciados.
The case of the province of Girona not only affects the capital, but also to the other regions that raise the average to 15.40 shops per thousand inhabitants. In fact, Alt Empordà (18,84 est) and Baix Empordà (17,81 est) surpass the capital of Gironès.
While in the province of Barcelona, other areas near the city of Barcelona such as Sabadell (12,44 est.), Terrassa (12,21 est.), Hospitalet de Llob. (11.79 est) or Sant Cugat (10.73 est) also has a significant presence of shops.
Importance of shopping tourism
The international impact of cities such as Barcelona is closely related to tourism. The arrival of numerous visitors, whether for holidays or business, affects a large number of shops and services. Not to mention the benefit for sectors such as real estate.
‘Economic impact of tourist purchases in the city of Barcelona’ , a study by RBD Consulting Group estimates that the turnover of shopping tourism is about 2,000 million euros per year. A volume of sales that in Barcelona supposes 19% of the total.
In fact, its disappearance would entail the closure of at least 1,200 commercial establishments. A negative impact on both the economy and the employment or investment that Barcelona currently receives.
Really, the city needs is just the opposite. To put in value the importance of the tourist in the local economy, and to develop in this way other commercial axes like the Avda Diagonal and Gran Via.
Two large arteries of commercial connectivity that could increase up to 5% the turnover of commercial establishments.
