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Recognizing
B
arcelona’s worth
Xavier Trias
Mayor of Barcelona and President
of Fira de Barcelona General Council
One more year, I have the honour of
acknowledging the crucial role that Fira de
Barcelona plays among all the economic
institutions of the city and the country. Given the
difficult times we are living and how they affect our
people, our companies and our welfare standards,
it seems to me even more worthy of praise.
The institution’s economic results, more than
115 million euros, and the balance of its
activities as wells as its impact on the city and
its metropolitan area, underscore the value of its
task. Fira is a major collective instrument at our
disposal in order to support small and medium-
sized companies, which make up the bulk of the
country’s productive economy, and entrepreneurs.
Throughout 2012, Fira de Barcelona has
continued to be a platform for big events related
to the internationalization of our companies, in
the field of knowledge, business development and
Barcelona’s international presence. Big shows
such as the Mobile World Congress, Alimentaria,
Smart City Expo, Hispack, Hostelco, EIBTM or the
Barcelona International Boat Show, for instance,
contribute to activate economic initiatives,
create collaboration spaces between companies,
generate business and employment, and make our
potential visible abroad.
The Barcelona Brand
The task of attracting and generating big
events which boost economic activities and
give Barcelona its worth as a brand and as and
environment for business and knowledge goes
hand in hand with the City Council’s efforts as
shown in «Barcelona Growth». It is the promotion
of economic activity, based not only on
congress-based tourism, but also on business
and value-adding indirect activities.
Worthy of special mention are the efforts
devoted to a new edition of the Mobile World
Congress and the subsequent launching of the
Barcelona Mobile World Capital Foundation.
As we have repeatedly pointed out, this
event provides our companies with a unique
opportunity to reach a leading position in the
field of new technologies, and the chance to be
actors in the profound changes going on in the
world of mobile communications and its multiple
applications in everyday life. Thanks to the
Barcelona Mobile World Capital Foundation, this
event allows Barcelona to be the mobile world
capital all year round.
Also worth noting are other innovative initiatives
like Smart City Expo or MIHealth. Barcelona is
already an example of smart and sustainable
21st century city and the second edition of
Smart City Expo has reinforced this significant
status even more. Similarly, Barcelona plays an
internationally acknowledged role in the field of
the health sciences. One must not forget that
we are one of the main destinations for major
medical congresses, a milestone for which Fira is
partly responsible: from 2006 the Gran Via and
Montjuic venues have hosted 37 major world-
class medical events.
A call for innovation
I would also like to mention the efforts made by
the institution to move its internationalization
one step forward, in order to mirror the city’s
and its companies’ vocation. The international
presence of several trade fair shows improves the
opportunities of local companies and shows Fira’s
levels of organizational reliability. Also worth noting
was the cooperation with other cities, such as
Montreal, contributing to the development of its
fair, which is another example of the active levels
of international cooperation traditionally carried
out by the city of Barcelona.
Undoubtedly, all of these actions have a very
positive impact on all the levels of economic
activity and employment creation in the city and its
metropolitan area. Finally, one must not forget Fira’s
social impact, always contributing to innovation,
knowledge and the modernization of our city
and its productive fabric.
Fira, a key element
in our economy
Felip Puig i Godes
Minister for Business and Employment.
Government of Catalonia and 1st Vice President
of Fira de Barcelona’s General Council
I would like to start by congratulating the
professional and management team of Fira
the Barcelona for its ongoing success. The
consolidation and expansion of the Fira’s activity
are crucial to Catalonia’s economy. It is a key tool
in the process of support to the companies, their
internationalization, the diffusion of innovation and
the convergence of supply and demand.
The economic figures of Fira de Barcelona, with
a turnover of more than 115 million euros, but
especially the quality reports about the trade
shows, congresses and outreach activities, place
Fira at the centre of Catalan economy.
Throughout 2012, Fira de Barcelona has
consolidated its leadership in the organization
of trade shows and has reinforced its
international influence, thus becoming a world
benchmark.
Mobile World Capital
Fira de Barcelona has been a significant part in the
process of attaining and consolidating the Mobile
World Congress, while decidedly contributing to
maintain Barcelona’s status as the mobile world
capital through the Barcelona Mobile World Capital
Foundation and its activities.
Apart from the 2012 Mobile World Congress,
also worth noting were shows such as
Alimentaria, the Barcelona International Boat
Show, Hispack, Hostelco, EIBTM or the more
recent Smart City Expo, which on its second
edition has established itself as an international
reference in the use of new information
technologies for urban management and
improvement.
Fira’s internationalization task is twofold: on the
one hand, it turns Barcelona into a meeting space
which is becoming a worldwide benchmark for
companies and professionals, and it assists local
companies in their internationalization projects
and growth; on the other hand, the presence of
some of its most renowned shows in international
events favours the internationalization of
companies by avoiding loss of capital and
knowledge as a result of the crisis in some
economic and productive sectors, or by fostering
traditional sectors of our economy, such as
construction or fashion.
The structure and diversity of our economic
model is also responsible for the success of Fira
de Barcelona. Despite the crisis, our economy
is strong in the agri-food, automotive, chemical,
textile and knowledge sectors, among others.
The strength of our companies also helps
bolstering Fira de Barcelona.
The economic recovery will come mainly from
the growth of existing companies and the
creation of new ones. In the face of the decline
of domestic demand, we need to increase
our exportation. However, this should not be a
temporary call, derived from the current weakness
of domestic demand.
Global leadership
In a global world, our economy must strive for
global leadership, which is why we support the
re-industrialization of Catalonia, whereby the
industry will produce wealth and will become
an economic model that should prove much
stronger under economic turbulences. We
must make it possible that the efforts put
into research and development during the last
years reach our productive system, always
bearing in mind the equal importance of the
service sector.
Our economic model based on industry, quality
services, internationalization and innovation needs
Fira de Barcelona as its driving force, as a
big showcase from which to assert itself in the
global economy.
Fira de Barcelona sets an example, as an
institution which has taken up the challenges
of Catalonia: the internationalization, the
support to economic activity, the exchange
of knowledge, the impulse to innovation, and
the assistance to companies, among others,
adapting to the new demands of a changing
world which is more global every day. All of
this makes Fira de Barcelona a key element in
Catalonia’s economy.
