How,the,1992,Summer,Olympics,B travel,insurance How the 1992 Summer Olympics Benefitted Tourism in Barcelona

Like any American, traveling occasionally is just what I love doing and I bet you share the same stuff with me. But traveling does not mean that you would be safe. Escaping from our job and other stressful activities is just something that w Torres del Paine is among the biggest of Chile’s national parks, occupying almost 600,000 acres (242,000 ha) of land in the south on the border with Argentina. It is also among the most important, receiving a significant proportion of domes

Normal 0 false false false EN-US X-NONE X-NONE MicrosoftInternetExplorer4 /* Style Definitions */ table.MsoNormalTable{mso-style-name:"Table Normal";mso-tstyle-rowband-size:0;mso-tstyle-colband-size:0;mso-style-noshow:yes;mso-style-priority:99;mso-style-qformat:yes;mso-style-parent:"";mso-padding-alt:0in 5.4pt 0in 5.4pt;mso-para-margin:0in;mso-para-margin-bottom:.0001pt;mso-pagination:widow-orphan;font-size:11.0pt;font-family:"Calibri","sans-serif";mso-ascii-font-family:Calibri;mso-ascii-theme-font:minor-latin;mso-fareast-font-family:"Times New Roman";mso-fareast-theme-font:minor-fareast;mso-hansi-font-family:Calibri;mso-hansi-theme-font:minor-latin;mso-bidi-font-family:"Times New Roman";mso-bidi-theme-font:minor-bidi;}Not only did the 1992 SummerOlympics bring Barcelona to the centre of the world stage, but they also gavethis historical city a new lease of life. As with many cities that have beengiven such a prestigious and monumental event, cash was injected to givevisitors a good impression, and the numbers of these visitors increaseddramatically. Tourism soared, and has continued to do so ever since. However, the benefits toBarcelona went further than this. Barcelona is the capital city of Cataluña, one of the seventeenautonomous regions of Spain, and the Games brought the Catalan culture into theeyes of the rest of the world. A survey carried out by theGames organizers had demonstrated that Spain was largely associated with sun,siestas and sangria, and also bullfighting, castañets and flamenco.  The Catalan culture was virtually unheard ofoutside of Western Europe, and in keeping with the objectives of most othermodern Olympic Games, the challenge was how to fairly and accurately projectthe culture and people of Spain while maintaining the essence of this part ofthe country.Barcelona had applied for theseGames three times previously without success, and it was particularlyappropriate that the city should be awarded the 1992 Olympic Games because itwas exactly 500 years after Christopher Columbus discovered America forSpain.  The city was transformed inpreparation for the event, not only in terms of the new sporting complexesconstructed but also with the refurbishment and renovation of the El PratAirport and the Olympic Port in Poble Nou. Better known as Port Olímpic, this area is close to the Villa Olímpica,and famous for its fabulous restaurants and its unique clubs and bars. However, the most importantconsequence of the Barcelona Olympic Games of 1992, other than the sportingspectacle itself and what it did for tourism in Spain and Barcelona inparticular, was in the promotion of the Catalan culture.  In 1992 Catalonia, as Cataluña is generallyknow outside Spain, was not generally recognized abroad as a distinctlyseparate area of Spain, and its culture was likewise unknown to all but thosewith an interest in the country.These Olympics changed all that,and Barcelona and its Catalan culture hit the map and has been prominent in thegeography, culture and cuisine of Spain ever since.  Many tourists visit Barcelona only because ofthat.  However, that was not the onlyaspect of Spain and Barcelona that was brought into the public eye. Thearchitecture of Gaudi and the art of masters such as Goya became known toordinary visitors, not just to those educated in these facets of Spanishculture.  The great Pablo Picasso has amuseum in Barcelona. In terms of advertisingBarcelona as a cultural centre and a 'must' on many people's lists of places tovisit, the Olympic Games of 1992 achieved in a few short weeks what it wouldotherwise have taken decades to achieve. It was not just the construction of Port Olímpic and Villa Olímpica, butalso the sports facilities in Montjuic, Vall d'Hebron and Diagonal that arelasting reminders of the benefits that Barcelona won when they also won theOlympics. Unlike most games sites, thosein Barcelona have been put to use after the games, and many are still well-usedsports facilities while others offer high-class luxury apartments for businessand tourism.  The Olympic Village(aforementioned Villa Olímpica) is one such area that now offers luxuryapartments, many for short-term let. The Olympic pool in Montjuic isstill in use by the public, and not only facilities such as these, but also thesignificant increase in tourism since 1992, has rendered Barcelona a verypopular destination for vacations and business shows and conferences. Over the10 years from 1990 to 2000, the city experienced a 110% increase in tourism,and between 1992 and 2002, 105 more hotels have been opened. Barcelona is now amongst the top4 most visited cities in Europe, the others being London, Rome and Paris.  The people of Barcelona are rightly proud ofwhat have been described as the 'model Olympics' because of the sustainedbenefits to the city that that they brought. It is that word 'sustained' thatis so important, because the ephemeral results of most other cities that hostedthe Summer Olympic Games soon disappeared - but not so with Barcelona. It is a source of pride, notonly to the organizing committee, but also the people of Barcelona, that theycan look at the benefits that this great city is still enjoying.  In the words of the New York Times of August1992, the athletes "could never dominate these Summer Games.  The city won the Games. The people ofCatalonia won the Games."Never were truer wordswritten or spoken.