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"We want to put people at the centre, the residents; our aim is to bring well-being to the community through the values of travel.Values that we want to transmit with slow tourism and regenerative tourism that ensures respect for the local community in a constant search for positive impact, as well as valuing natural resources that allow unique experiences."
I'm the General Director of Tourism at the Directorate general for tourism of the Catalan Government. In my spare time, I love tourism, enjoy with food, wine, nature… I also practice yoga and I love reading.
We are promoting a national commitment to responsible tourism in Catalonia where we hope to involve the entire tourism sector and make it the seed of the new Tourism Law. This law must adapt the legal framework to the new realities we are living and must contribute to advancing the creation of the new tourism model that we want.
Covid has brought us great challenges in the tourism sector: environmental, social, economic… It is a time of change and we must take advantage of it to create the tourism model we want.
We want to put people at the centre, the residents; our aim is to bring well-being to the community through the values of travel.
Values that we want to transmit with slow tourism and regenerative tourism that ensures respect for the local community in a constant search for positive impact, as well as valuing natural resources that allow unique experiences.
There is an equality plan in the Government of Catalonia that ensures gender equality, family reconciliation… but we must continue to propose actions that will help reduce gender bias.
More than 40% of people employed in the tourism sector in Catalonia are women. Our labour market is characterized, like many others, by a strong presence of women but limited in managerial positions, and by a low salary level of women in some of its activities.
The health crisis has had a strong impact on employment, especially among women. In addition, activities related to hospitality and tourism are the ones that lost the female employment.
My parents have a family tourism business and have always taught me effort and work as key values in achieving my goals in life.
The tourism sector is one of the most important in Catalonia but also in Europe and in the world. Working as managers or leaders can help us, as women, to be part of the change that we want to see and to define what kind of world we want to leave to our children.
With no experience in public administration, I became the head of the General Directorate for Tourism of the Government of Catalunya with the desire to serve a sector that I know perfectly well. I changed a management position in a multinational to manage a family hotel in the Priorat region, founded by my great-grandfather, where women of the family had played a key role in its success. I think that the role of women in tourism has always been very important but has had little visibility. However, women have maintained the essence of service and hospitality.
I have actively participated in hospitality organisations to try to change things that I did not like it. I think it is the way to change things and adapt to new trends. I am an optimistic, energetic and determined person and now I am trying to row from the other side, from within the Government of the Generalitat. Tourism is a transversal field and the more involved in all areas of government the better.
Currently General Director of Tourism of the Government of Catalonia, member of the board of directors of the RACC and patron of the Catalunya La Pedrera foundation.
Previously, she combined the management of the Hotel Hostal Sport, in the Priorat region, with the vice-presidency of Pimec Tarragona and she was president of the international commission and executive member of the Chamber of Commerce of Reus. She was also president of DO Accommodation and president of the AEHT Federation. She worked for Mango as the director of advertising and purchasing, among others.
