Barcelona
Working Group

Working groups provide opportunity for ETOA’s members and partners to cooperate on issues to do with the business environment for tourism in Europe. They are topic or destination focused. Activities can range from in-person meetings to ad hoc consultation and information sharing.

Their composition is not fixed and expressions of interest are welcome. We try to ensure access to insight from various business models and origin markets, and specialist expertise where applicable. For destination-focused groups, representatives from members’ local offices are especially valuable.

The Barcelona Working Group concentrates on the latest changes in the operational environment of the city. It also aims to strengthen collaboration between operators and local and regional stakeholders to support more sustainable, efficient, and innovative approaches to managing tourism.

ETOA members met in Barcelona on 17 September 2026 to exchange views on the current operating environment and the outlook for organised tourism in the destination. The discussion touched on a range of practical and market-related issues, including access to attractions, transport arrangements, changing visitor behaviour and the impact of rising travel costs on demand. We would also like to thank the Barcelona City Council for hosting the meeting and the Catalan Tourist Board and Barcelona Tourism for joining the discussion, helping to facilitate an open exchange between the industry and local stakeholders.

On 9 March 2026, ETOA met online with local operators providing an opportunity to gather feedback  on coach operations following the introduction of the new Coach Access System in February 2026. Members shared insight into how implementation is working in practice, feeding into ETOA’s continued dialogue with the city authorities on topic, and reinforcing the value of collaboration between the travel trade and public sector to evolve solutions that address the access and mobility needs of residents and visitors.