The Influence Of Tourism In Spain

The globalization, the ease of transportation, and English as a universal language, contributed to implement the idea of how enjoyable and gratifying travelling can be, even for disabled people (Cols, 2015).

In regard to the tourism practices, the major motivations are leisure travel and holidays, followed by visits to relatives and friends. The duration of trips has tended to decrease and nowadays ranges from one week to two weeks, especially for young people. The typical Spanish tourist with special needs can be characterised as a user who generally chooses Spain as a destination, mainly looks to relax, travels with their family in the summer, stays at hotels and has an average expenditure of between 500 € and 750 € over 5 days (Alén, Domínguez

Most cities are aware of this fact, and there is a general trend towards the accessible tourism at all levels, including for visitors from other countries. Few examples of technological changes that made the experience of disable tourists more pleasant and safe are the mechanisms to go upstairs and downstairs for people with a reduced mobility, the sounds that some traffic lights do to indicate that the green light is on and then it is safe for blind people to cross the streets, or the newest public phones that include a keyboard, so people with a hearing loss are able to communicate (Gallaudet.edu, 2015).

3.4 Industry and competitive environment

It is important for a company (in this case a hotel), to analyse the current situation in their industry, in order to find out if, for instance, there are new entrants in the market, the level of competition or which ones are the industry practices.

If we take a quick look at the industry, it is clear that Barcelona is a city directed towards the tourism, and that it is one of the most vital and beneficial industries. The number of hotels is increasing by year, and just in from the year 2012 to 2013, 51 new hotels were set up, adding up a total of 603 (Ajuntament de Barcelona,

Especially for a business in the tourism industry, in which its profits are linked not only to the services it offers but also to the city where it is located, the economic activity can completely change depending on the political party in charge of the city and the stability of it. After the recent elections in the city of Barcelona, “Barcelona En Comú” has been elected as the new city council and Ada Colau as the new mayor, an absolutely contrasting political party to the previous one with a radical focus on the