The shopping centers and franchises that, for the second year, have taken advantage of the extension of business hours to open on Sundays and public holidays ensure that this campaign has been better, with more customers and more turnover. Barcelona thus closes an initiative that this year began on May 3rd and ended yesterday and that, despite the fact that it has had an uneven and very localized following in Passeig de Gràcia, Portal de l'Àngel and the large shopping centers, s 'has established itself mainly as an attraction for tourists visiting the city. Beyond the center, monitoring in the commercial areas of the neighborhoods has been nil.
"Being able to tell our customers that the shops are open on Sunday is one more option than the women and they happily take advantage... In fact, some did not understand that being a tourist town the shops are closed on public holidays", maintains the director from a central Barcelona hotel.
The good employment and tourist spending data this summer are directly related to the good sales result on Sunday. "People move because of habits, and since this is the second year of opening, the campaign has consolidated", says one of the members of Barcelona Oberta, the commercial entity that fought the hardest to be able to open the heads of week and holidays.
The sector maintains that the schedule agreed last year with the City Council - blinds up at 12 noon and until 8 in the evening - has been key. "It allows tourists to shop and do other things, visit a museum or go to the beach..." say the traders.
The president of Barcelona Oberta, Gabriel Jené, says that the opening "has become a claim to attract visitors". The majority profile is that of the American customer, the most numerous foreigner in Barcelona this year, who benefits from a more favorable currency exchange and the 15% tax free discount. Also by volume, the French and Dutch stand out at El Corte Inglés in Plaça Catalunya. Complements, perfumery, jewelery and fashion – in addition to high-end restaurants – are the main appeal for these tourists and the franchises of these products have been, together with the shopping centres, the most interested in opening.
However, beyond Passeig de Gràcia - and even on the avenue itself - many shops have chosen to close on public holidays. Also in the neighborhoods. In the vicinity of the most visited Sagrada Família, for example, for the second consecutive year souvenir shops have only opened on Sundays and public holidays. "Local commerce has not opened", affirms Pròsper Puig, president of the city's other large commercial group, Barcelona Comerç. "Even a few meters from Paseo de Gràcia, no one opens," he reiterates.
Puig welcomes the fact that the franchises and shopping centers that have opened are satisfied with the campaign, but raises the need to evaluate with data what the actual follow-up of establishments has been "to assess things well and make decisions adjusted to reality; we have asked it time and again to the City Council, but there is no way", he regrets.
Prosper Puig invites "a general reflection on the tourism model we have, because there are some with high purchasing power, but there are also many who do not have it and we should define what type of trade we want and what we need prioritize".
