Tax on Stays in Tourist Accommodation

What is it?

It is a tax of the Government of Catalonia that generates resources to maintain and enhance Catalonia as a tourist destination, making the country more competitive, of higher quality, and more sustainable.

A part of the revenue from this tax goes to the Tourism Promotion Fund, administered by the Government of Catalonia, and intended to finance tourism policies aimed at achieving these goals.

The Government of Catalonia transfers another part of the tax resources to local administrations in the territory. In La Garrotxa, all municipalities have agreed to jointly manage the resources obtained from this tax.

These resources help finance actions included in the county’s tourism strategic plan, based on the European Charter for Sustainable Tourism.

What does it finance in La Garrotxa?

In La Garrotxa, the resources from the tourist tax are allocated to:

– Maintain and signpost networks of paths and itineraries.

– Promote and disseminate cultural heritage.

– Improve tourist reception infrastructures.

– Publish maps and tourist guides about La Garrotxa.

– Make various points of tourist interest more accessible.

Thanks to the Tax on Stays in Tourist Accommodation you contribute to ensuring that Catalonia and La Garrotxa are better prepared to welcome tourists and visitors, and become more sustainable.

Actions 2019-2020

· Image bank: Acquisition of 63 photographs of different county sites for the image bank of the Garrotxa County Council: €3,159.70

· Image bank: Acquisition of photographs for the image bank of the Garrotxa County Council: €4,356.00

· Visitor counting tool in tourist offices: Centralization of the OTGEST system, visitor statistics, 2020 annual fee: €1,070.85

· Garrotxa Volcanic Walking Festival: Domain of the “Hiking Festival, Volcanic Walking”: €188.76

· Garrotxa Volcanic Walking Festival: Insert in the weekly La Comarca of the “Volcanic Walking Festival” brochure: €300

· Garrotxa Volcanic Walking Festival: Merchandise “Hiking Festival, Volcanic Walking”: €544.10

· Garrotxa Cultour: Printing of Garrotxa Cultour brochures: €1,433.85

· Garrotxa Cultour: Maintenance of the garrotxacultour.com domain, 2020 annual fee: €21.78

· Tot Garrotxa Guide: Picking and shipping services of the Tot Garrotxa guide: €299

· Web panel with an indicator system to study the impact of tourism in La Garrotxa: €17,847.50

· Report “Inspiring Garrotxa”: Press conference presentation of the report “Inspiring Garrotxa” by Descobrir Catalunya: €134.02 Maintenance service of the Garrotxa Cultour APP: €1,223.31

· turismegarrotxa.com: Improvements to the county tourist promotion website: €3,327.50

· Translation of texts for 10 itineraries: €497.51

· Itinerànnia trail network: Contracting supply of a simple noticeboard and 33 adhesive bands for Itinerànnia: €1,950.67

· Itinerànnia trail network: Contracting of maintenance and signposting services for the Itinerànnia trail network: €20,985.76

· Itinerànnia trail network: Annual 2019 maintenance of the Gooltracking license: content manager, technical support: €1,282.60

· Itinerànnia trail network: Linguistic standardization and translation of texts for Itinerànnia trail network noticeboards: €6,954.26

Total investment: €65,576.84

Actions 2017-2018

· Garrotxa Experiences Catalogue: Contract for the development and creation of tourism products for the Garrotxa Experiences catalogue and website: €2,911.33

· Management contract for a study to develop La Garrotxa as a tourist destination: €4,114

· Municipal tourism promotion brochure: Re-layout of base material for the municipal tourism brochure: €397.5

· Garrotxa Cultour: Garrotxa Cultour noticeboard in Besalú: €46.04

· Garrotxa Cultour: Design of Garrotxa Cultour brochures: €290.4

· Garrotxa Cultour: Printing of Garrotxa Cultour brochure: €1,597.20

· Garrotxa Cultour: Obtaining the Official National Brand Title “GC Garrotxa Cultour”: €907.5

· Tot Garrotxa Guide: Picking and shipping services of the Tot Garrotxa guide: €989.61

· Walking and cycling route map: Design of the La Garrotxa hiking and cycle touring map: €3,303.30

· Walking and cycling route map: Printing of stickers for the La Garrotxa hiking and cycle touring map: €716.32

· Walking and cycling route map: Printing of the La Garrotxa hiking and cycle touring map: €3,584.02

· Garrotxa Tourism Award: Foam board for the Garrotxa Tourism Awards lectern: €50.58

· Garrotxa Tourism Award: Filming services during the II Garrotxa Tourism Award ceremony: €701.8

· Garrotxa Tourism Award: Sound and lighting services during the II Garrotxa Tourism Award ceremony: €574.75

· Report “Inspiring Garrotxa”: Publication of the Inspiring Garrotxa dossier in Descobrir Catalunya magazine: €7,000

· turismegarrotxa.com: Improvements to the county tourism promotion website for 2019: €3,327.50

· turismegarrotxa.com: Programming and maintenance of turismegarrotxa.com: €726

· Translation of texts of 10 itineraries: €585.31

· Itinerànnia trail network: Maintenance and signposting contract for the Itinerànnia trail network: €23,453.43

· Itinerànnia trail network: Maintenance of the Gooltracking software of the Itinerànnia trail network: €1,282.60

· Itinerànnia trail network: Layout of Itinerànnia itineraries brochures: €3,133.90

· Itinerànnia trail network: Adhesive vinyl Alta Garrotxa with laminated digital printing: €50.25

Total investment: €59,743.34

Territorial Tourism Promotion Plans

Additionally, in 2014, 2015, and 2019, the Garrotxa County Council obtained different Territorial Tourism Promotion Plans, granted by the Government of Catalonia, and financed with the part of the Tax on Stays in Tourist Accommodation collected by the Government of Catalonia itself.

The objective of these grants is to ensure that Catalan tourist destinations improve their competitiveness.

The Promotion Plans achieved by La Garrotxa have made it possible to finance the following actions:

Year 2019

· Crater Space: €500,000.00

· Reception area for family and sports tourism in Tortellà: €27,144.62

· Motorhome parking in Sant Joan les Fonts: €18,019

· Improvements to the new visitor center in Santa Pau: €25,800.00

· Signposting of itineraries in various municipalities of La Garrotxa: €20,278.67

· Improvement of accessibility of hiking trails in the EIN of Alta Garrotxa: €12,746.99

· Signposting of Baumes de Caxurma and Sant Sebastià de Monars: €1,635.92

· Creation of the lava flow route around the historic center of Santa Pau: €17,600.00

· Installation of information panels in the Romanesque churches of Beuda, with Garrotxa Cultour: €3,250.00

· Creation of the Romantic Route of Beuda: €1,747.98

· Restoration of different areas of Les Planes d’Hostoles: €34,433.11

· Adaptation of itineraries, rest area, and information panels of the Pedra Tosca Park: €8,000.00

· Heritage activation for self-guided visits to the L’Aubert archaeological site: €23,699.25

· Installation of tourist and cultural signage on the greenway of the Vall d’en Bas: €7,547.00

· Improvement of urban and rural tourist signage of accommodations and activities in Vall de Bianya: €2,481.47

· Renovation of the Cós lookout tower: €30,918.20

· Creation of a picnic area in the Morrals area: €4,929.54

· Construction of a picnic area in Sant Jaume de Llierca: €30,250.00

· Restoration of the bridge of St. Feliu de Pallerols: €44,060.44

· Creation of a tourist website for Beuda: €4,000.00

Total investment: €818,594.21

Year 2015

· Construction of a visitor service area at the Montsacopa volcano fort: €265,081.44

· Adaptation of Castellar de la Muntanya parking: €3,196.22

· Interpretive route Boscarró – Molí Fondo in Sant Joan Les Fonts: €24,314.95

· Signposting of itineraries in various municipalities of La Garrotxa: €33,656.51

· Adaptation of tourist signage at the border of La Garrotxa: €10,742.99

· Implementation of Garrotxa Cultour signage: €838.60

· Adaptation of access to the Xenacs recreational area: €51,473.90

· Construction of a cycle lane in Santa Pau: €67,932.72

· Adaptation of the river path and construction of a birdwatching hut in Argelaguer: €24,709.48

· Tourist signage in the municipality of Les Preses: €2,888.55

· Directional signage in the municipality of Vall de Bianya: €58,139.89

· Improvement of the old town of Castellfollit de la Roca: €5,072.99

· Adaptation of the urban area of Sant Jaume de Llierca: €45,165.22

· Adaptation of the river area, recovery of leisure space in Sant Jaume de Llierca: €20,000.00

· Adaptation of a singular space in Castellfollit de la Roca: €10,368.49

· Construction of a visitor service building in the municipality of Beuda – phase II: €36,707.57

· Production of an educational audiovisual on the Remença wars and their relation to two medieval castles near the municipality of Les Planes d’Hostoles: €20,570.00

· Adaptation of the location of the digital tourist information point in Les Planes d’Hostoles: €1,216.05

Total investment: €682,075.57

Year 2014

· Construction of the new tourist office in Olot: €158,167.99

· Improvements to the accesses to the Montsacopa volcano and establishment of a restaurant service: €407,341.40

· Implementation of signage of the “Garrotxa Cultour” project: €109,944.37

· Development of the 15 Routes APP (Garrotxa Cultour): €71,000.00

· Renovation of the permanent exhibition at the Medieval Castle Estada Juvinyà: €8,449.21

· Motorhome parking: €14,117.98

· Signposting of itineraries in various municipalities of La Garrotxa: €34,481.16

· Tourist signage in the town center of Santa Pau: €12,747.44

· Improvements to access to the Brugent River pools in Les Planes d’Hostoles: €12,290.94

· Construction of a picnic area in Sant Jaume de Llierca: €4,824.27

· Installation of a safety railing in Sant Jaume de Llierca: €10,083.35

· Construction of a parking area at the Sant Feliu de Pallerols Tourist Office: €28,625.79

· Improvements in accessibility and safety in the area of Torrent de Can Sis Rals – “Font d’en Garrell”: €17,619.08

· Development of the Itinerànnia APP: €3,180.00

· Adaptation of turismegarrotxa.com to accessibility standards: €6,290.79

· Acquisition of software for visitor counting: €3,000.00

· Acquisition of software for occupancy control in accommodation: €8,858.00

· Creation of a tourist promotion website for the municipality of Les Planes d’Hostoles: €4,255.22

· Creation of the Remença Territory website and adaptation of the graphic image for the municipality of Sant Feliu de Pallerols: €3,176.25

· Implementation of an informative touchscreen in Les Preses: €13,068.00

· Implementation of wifi transmitters in the Network of Digital Tourist Information Points of La Garrotxa: €3,049.05

· Creation of the “Garrotxa Digital Corner”: €9,958.30

Total investment: €654,321.68