The new way to visit Barcelona that escapes the "typical tourist glued to their phones"

BarcelonaVisiting sporting events in other countries is a trend. Participating in tours foreign stadiums, too. Even competing to see who's been to the most stadiums in a group of friends is a growing trend among football fans. The Futbology app allows users to log all the football stadiums they've visited. Felipe Teijeiro is a user and boasts about his repertoire on social media. "Every year I travel to see a Barça match in Europe. The trio depends on the history of the club and the stadium I visit," he says in a conversation with ARA.

Teijeiro sees significant differences between prices for tourists and local fans. "The places where you see extortionate prices for the general public are most often in Barcelona and Madrid. In England or Germany, they take better care of their members," he admits. Felipe believes Barça should control ticket prices. so that it doesn't happen like the day of Eintracht Frankfurt. "In these matches, tourists usually shout out the opposing team's goals," he says. In Sant Andreu de Palomar, however, the impact of tourism is different.

José Manuel Pérez, general manager of the Unión Deportiva Sant Andreu, distinguishes between the passing fan who travels to Montjuïc to watch Barça and those who experience the atmosphere at the Narcís Sala. "Tourists don't come here to take selfies, but rather are drawn to the local teams," says Pérez. UESA is undergoing a process of change after a Japanese multinational bought the club. Before Taito Suzuki's acquisition, the club had an amateur structure and dedicated its resources exclusively to the pitch. "We are trying to professionalize the club in all areas and grow. Since online sales were introduced, the passing fan base has increased." Pérez states that they have even been featured "in international news."

The case of Sant Andreu

Over the last two years, Sant Andreu's membership has grown for several reasons. Promotion to Salamanca, the agreement with the Meyba brand, the growth in membership, and the increase in ticket sales are some of the reasons. "We are professionalizing the merchandising aspect because we can't absorb all the demand we had," he admits. According to Pérez, the club's online store was closed because the club didn't have the necessary infrastructure to handle all the purchases they received (from people outside of Catalonia and Europe). Fifteen percent of online orders came from Europe.

The magical atmosphere at the Narcís Sala and the lively atmosphere at the north goal captivate tourists. "The fans are our greatest asset. Even if the team loses, they keep cheering for the entire ninety minutes. Tourists come to experience this," he comments excitedly. Four or five years ago, Sant Andreu didn't even have 1,000 members, but now it has 5,000. "The growth is tremendous, but the important thing is to build loyalty among these people, to ensure it's not a temporary occurrence, and to build a strong following," he declares. Pérez assures that they haven't experienced any inconvenience from tourists. "When we detect a match where many tickets are sold to tourists, we write an email in English explaining our rules (that they focus on cheering, not filming with their cell phones). We also try to explain our values to them and encourage them to embrace our philosophy," he concludes.

According to Sant Andreu's general manager, the club doesn't promote tourism; it only allows foreign fans to buy tickets. "We like people from outside to come, but we avoid the typical tourist hooked on their cell phones. We also want to be careful because what's important is our people, our values, and the club's philosophy," says Pérez. However, local clubs, such as UESA and Europa, have also received requests from tourists to participate in the tournament. tours through the stadium.

Stadium tours are on the rise

In this regard, Mónica Rodríguez is responsible for customer service and director of marketing and communications at Bstadium. This company offers leisure, tourism, and sports packages for major football clubs. The company has noticed an increase in demand for tours and sports experiences. People include stadium tours in their tours. "Football fans go beyond watching the game. They want to be closer to the players and professional football," says Rodríguez.

Bstadium works directly with FC Barcelona and RCD Espanyol and has tours Exclusive experiences like the visit to the Montilivi Stadium. In these experiences, clubs receive direct income from guided tours. Little by little, the barriers between clubs and tourism companies are breaking down. "Clubs increasingly need more resources to succeed. Therefore, they are more open to collaborating with other companies," he explains. "When designing experiences, we carefully consider the format and then jointly evaluate it with the clubs."

Barcelona, a brand of sports tourism

Josep Maria Raya, director of the Tourism Research Center at the Maresme University School (UPF), believes that sports tourism isn't too distorting. "It's a healthy lifestyle; it usually occurs during the day, not at night. It's usually a type of tourism that doesn't bother the neighbors. It's not drunken tourism." According to Raya, Barcelona has been a sports brand since the 1992 Olympic Games. "Every new event that takes place reinforces this brand. Any Barça match does too," he asserts. The professor believes that when there's a debate about prioritizing the tourism or neighborhood model, the problem stems from tourism in general, not sports tourism.

Along the same lines, Albert de Gregorio, an economist, public management professional, and professor in the Department of Public Economics at the UB, believes that sports tourism generates less disruption than other forms of tourism. "Sports tourism provides the same benefits as other forms of tourism, but without the negative externalities of occupying public space," he states.

Gregorio believes that the current dominance of the Barcelona tourism brand ("a city of leisure and culture," as the expert defines it) is such that he sees no danger of the city losing its identity. "Barcelona is an international sports brand," says Gregorio. As the public management expert asserts, there are two aspects of the phenomenon: sports tourism (cycling, for example) and sports event tourism. The Catalan capital has become a setting where sports and tourism coexist to reinforce an identity that is projected worldwide.