French business tourism agencies on board

On 17 October 2021, a workshop organized by the French company Meet & Forum and the Barcelona Convention Bureau, specialized in business tourism and whose objective is to promote our city, took place in Barcelona.

On this occasion, the purpose of the meeting was none other than to show our neighbouring country the multitude of possibilities that Barcelona can offer as a business tourism destination. Some 30 different French agencies participated, meeting planners who are representative of the MICE market, a term that refers to tourism for corporate events, meetings, and work.

“Fam Trip” – Gotland Charter with the French market

 Of all the events that took place that day, one of them was held on board one of our boats.

Gotland Charter, a company associated with Turisme Barcelona, had the pleasure of organizing a “Fam Trip” and inviting all the agencies from France to come on a pleasant ride on one of the largest sailing ships currently in Barcelona: the Southern Cross.

But what is a “Fam Trip”? A literal translation from English, this is a “family trip”.  It is the term that identifies courtesy trips offered to agencies or tour operators so that they can verify, first-hand, the value of the product which they are going to sell to their clients.

In our case, the idea was not only to make our company known as a leading business in the sector, but also to show our future collaborators the incredible experience of going sailing as a unique and quintessential tourist activity for anyone who decides to come and see the city.

The trip was a resounding success, it must be said… 

On board a historic sailing ship 

The ship left Maremagnum on a beautiful and bright Sunday afternoon. Several members of the Gotland Charter company welcomed the attendees and accompanied them during the trip.

Before casting off, all the participants gathered in the upper deck solarium, where one of the salespeople gave several presentations and showed the agencies the value of being able to view Barcelona from the sea aboard a historic sailing ship.

After the talk, the boat headed out to the open sea and that’s when the real sailing experience began.

Drinks were offered accompanied by one of our best tapas, Iberian ham, cut on board from the leg by a professional. The views of Barcelona were savoured, at the same time as the relaxing power and magic of the sea took effect.

After the 90 minutes that the event lasted, the ship returned to port although it was still possible to spend a good while on board exchanging ideas, information, and contacts. We are sure that, as a result of the afternoon, new collaborations will arise and we will, of course, be delighted to receive companies and organizations who, even if they have travelled to Barcelona for work reasons, will be able to escape for a couple of hours to enjoy our offer: getting to know the city from the sea. 

Thanks to all the agencies that sailed with us and especial thanks to Mayanne Événementiel, a company dedicated to the organization of national and international professional events, who we hope to receive news from very soon: we are looking forward to hearing from you!