ITTN’s Ita Hendrick and Geoff Percival got to sample a taste of Catalonia, last night, as the Catalan Tourist Board hosted the Irish travel media at an event to mark Sant Jordi – Catalonia’s national day – and to celebrate Barcelona gaining host city status for this year’s America’s Cup yacht race, which will be held in October.
The Catalan Tourist Board team of Aicard Guinovart, Ona Francisco and Pilar Herrero Gómez welcomed everyone to The Devlin Hotel, in Ranelagh; where, after welcome drinks and an introduction from Rubén López Pulido – head of the Spanish Tourism Office in Dublin – Catalan Tourist Board Director Aicard Guinovart delivered a presentation and short film (in the Devlin’s Stella Ranelagh cinema) showing how Catalonia – a region roughly the size of Belgium, with a population of nearly 8 million people – is more than just a region of northern Spain, and has much more to visit than just the city of Barcelona; although, that’s obviously a good starting point!
The presentation also touched on the America’s Cup – the 37th staging of which will see Team New Zealand defending its title in Barcelona this October – and featured a brief interview with Team New Zealand manager, and boat racing legend Grant Dalton, which was mesmerising and inspirational even for non-sailors.
Then it was up to Layla’s, The Devlin’s Rooftop Bar and Restaurant to sample a great selection of Catalonian food and wine, which seemed to prove very popular with the masses. Also on hand were the Spanish Tourism Office’s Kathryn MacDonnell and Sara Rivero Lopez.
