For the first time, Girona offers guided tours to those who live in the city and spend their holidays at home so that they can discover its heritage. Until mid-September, there will be about twenty focused on different themes: the Jewish past, medieval Girona, legends, hidden nature… All will be free and in Catalan.
In addition, with the aim of being inclusive, there will be sign language, audio description and adapted for people with reduced mobility.
“We believe that it is a good initiative because not everyone knows the city and that makes it possible for citizens to feel it is their own,” says Deputy Mayor Gemma Geis.
This September, in addition, the City Council wants to activate the tourism table to create “complicity and synergies” with the sector.
During these weeks, the Deputy Mayor of Girona and Councilor for Economic Promotion has met with different agents, groups and representatives of the tourism sector in the city. Gemma Geis, who within the new organization chart is the person in charge of the Tourism area, has made a first contact to start “discussing and establishing joint strategies”.
Starting in September, this public-private collaboration will take shape with the new tourism board. The intention of the city council is to activate it just after the summer, with the aim that -as Geis specifies- it is a space for debate and “conciliation” that allows “weaving alliances” with the sector.
When it comes to promoting the different policies, in the future the table will also have academic advice. Because the tripartite government agreement also plans to promote a Tourism Observatory in Girona, hand in hand with the university, which will carry out studies, provide reports and allow us to “anticipate when making decisions, based on the rigor provided by the data”. the vice mayor specifies.
From the Tourism area, and in a transversal way with other councils, projects will also be promoted such as the welcome plan to the city (focused on both the visitor and the new resident or the university student), the reduction of the ceiling of the floors to a maximum of 4% throughout the city or the creation of a new rate for tourist buses.
In the latter case, the tax wants to be created reflecting on other cities that already apply it and who will have to articulate it is the Treasury area. However, Geis does advance that what is “important” is that the new rate allows “creating a bag of money” that can be “reinvested” in favor of the city, with projects that are also proposed through “dialogue” with those who will form part of the tourist table.
While waiting for the different projects related to tourism in Girona to come to fruition, this summer the city council has already promoted one. It is addressed exclusively to those people from Girona and people from Girona who will spend the holidays at home. During August and until mid-September, the City Council will subsidize guided tours so that all those who wish can discover -or rediscover- the cultural and natural heritage of the city.
Apart from expanding the range of activities offered in summer for citizens, the deputy mayor explains that the visits will allow the people of Girona “to value the city and make them feel it is theirs”. Gemma Geis specifies that, on occasions, with congresses that have been organized in the city, the council had already subsidized guided tours for attendees. And that now, the will is to make this idea fully benefit the citizenry.
The program includes around twenty free guided tours, between August 4 and September 10. They are distributed on Friday, Saturday and Sunday.
The guided tours will be in Catalan and there are nine different themes. Among them, medieval, Jewish, Episcopal Girona, ancient legends, hidden nature, a tour following the course of the Galligants river or, also, a night route focused on the cinematographic city. In addition, with the aim of making the visits inclusive, the one in medieval Girona has been adapted for people with reduced mobility and will also be offered with audio description and sign language.
Apart from these, the Girona City Council is also working to expand the offer with new tourist routes by bicycle (in this case, together with the festival of the sector, the Sea Otter).
