Tourism has become an opportunity for the cultural projection of cities and a source of funding for many cultural facilities, and in Barcelona it contributes to internationally reinforcing its heritage, creativity, and identity.

Tourism has become an opportunity for the cultural projection of cities and a source of funding for many cultural facilities, and in Barcelona it contributes to internationally reinforcing its own heritage, creativity, and identity.

In October 2010, fifteen years ago, Barcelona approved the city's first strategic tourism plan. It was a pioneering document that highlighted the need to better distribute visitor flows, prevent overcrowding in certain areas, and ensure that tourism activity translated into a higher quality of life for residents. At that time, Barcelona already held a prominent place on the global map of urban destinations: the number of visitors was growing year after year, the port received almost two million cruise passengers annually, and the cultural offerings were expanding with leading festivals and large-scale exhibitions. But it soon became clear that the challenge was not simply to grow more, but to grow better.