Catalan language promotion takes centre stage in Barcelona’s tourism strategy as ERC proposes distributing basic vocabulary brochures to visitors.
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The Republican Left of Catalonia will formally request that Barcelona City Council create and distribute essential Catalan language materials to tourists through hotels, restaurants, and tourist offices across the city.
Catalan Language Initiative Aims to Educate 15 Million Annual Visitors
ERC’s municipal spokesperson Jordi Castellana argues that many tourists leave Barcelona unaware that Catalan is the city’s native language.
Consequently, the party wants to mirror initiatives seen in other bilingual regions like Ireland, where travellers receive basic Gaelic vocabulary sheets.Furthermore, they propose including these materials in official tourist guides, which currently often omit references to Catalan entirely.
The proposal specifically calls for creating a visual dictionary featuring common greetings, numbers, days of the week, and essential phrases for dining and emergencies. Additionally, ERC suggests collaborating with Turisme de Barcelona and local businesses to distribute the materials free of charge. Castellana emphasises that promoting Catalan doesn’t exclude anyone but rather shares the city’s cultural richness with visitors.
Meanwhile, the initiative comes as Barcelona continues to balance its cultural identity with massive tourism numbers. Therefore, ERC believes the constant flow of visitors presents an opportunity rather than a challenge. The councillor maintains that understanding Catalan is essential to fully appreciating Barcelona’s architecture, cuisine, and cultural heritage.
Ultimately, the proposal represents part of broader efforts to strengthen Catalan language presence in public life. The city government will now consider whether to implement the tourist language initiative as part of its cultural promotion strategy.
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