SPAIN TOURISM ADMINISTRATIVE AND TERRITORIAL ORGANIZATION

The Ministry of Industry, Energy and Tourism is the department within the Spanish general administration responsible for proposing and carrying out government policy in the areas of industrial development and innovation, trade policy, small and medium sized enterprises, energy and mining, tourism, telecommunications, audiovisual media and the development of the Information Society. Additionally, the Ministry of Industry, Energy and Tourism is also responsible for submitting to the government the proposal for Spain's positioning on issues that fall within the scope of the department.

State Secretariat for Tourism

In matters of tourism, the relevant functions and actions are handled by the Ministry of Industry, Energy and Tourism acting through the offices of the State Secretariat for Tourism, whose remit extends to the taking of whatever actions are required for the definition, development and implementation of tourist policy, along with any related promotional activities that fall within the sphere of the Central Government Administration.

The Secretariat for Tourism is charged with:

• Defining, proposing, lending impetus to, and coordinating government tourist policy:
• Drawing up general plans that serve to foster tourist products and go to improve the quality and technological innovation in tourist firms and co-operation with the private sector. Its duties likewise include identifying new tourist resources, diagnosing and assessing factors that affect the supply side of tourism, and designing strategies aimed at developing and enhancing tourist products and destinations;
• Liaising with Autonomous Regions, Local Authorities, Ministries and the tourist sector in general, to draw up the bases for and general planning of tourist sector policy;
• Undertaking research into factors that exert influence on tourism, as well as gathering, compiling and assessing statistics, information and data relating to same;
• Defining the Spanish Tourism Institute's strategies;
• Handling institutional tourist relations between the Central Government Administration and international organisations -public and private- as well as international tourist co-operation, in co-ordination with the Ministry of Foreign Affairs.

Spanish Tourism Institute

The Spanish Tourism Office (TURESPAÑA) is the Administrative unit of the Central Government in charge of promoting Spain abroad as a tourism destination. In order to do so, TURESPAÑA carries out activities in the following areas:

• Planning, development and execution of activities aimed at promoting Spain as a tourism destination in the international markets;
• Support of the marketing of Spanish tourism products abroad in cooperation with the regional and local authorities and the private sector;
• Establishing the strategy, plan of action and investments for new establishments of “Paradores de Turismo de España”

In order to effectively achieve its goals, in promotion and marketing TURESPAÑA carries out its activities abroad through a network of 33 Tourist Offices of Spain, which are part of Spain's Embassies and Consulates.

Paradores de Turismo de España

This entity is a state company, coming under the control of the Spanish Tourism Institute, whose principal function is the management and running of State owned properties, mostly historic buildings that have been purpose-adapted for hotel use. It constitutes an enormously successful experience of recovery of Spain's historical heritage. Nowadays there is a network of 93 “Paradores” functioning.

Institute for Tourism Studies

The Instituto de Estudios Turísticos (IET) (Institute for Tourism Studies) under the presidency of TURESPAÑA is in charge of statistical operations tourism at borders (Frontur), Tourism Expenditure Survey (Egatur) and tourism of the Spanish (Familitur), generating data on arrivals of foreign visitors to Spain and peculiarities, and travel expenses engaged by the Spaniards and their characteristics. The IET is also in charge of the Tourist occupancy survey (Ocupatur), the Touristic habits survey (Habitur) as well as the Tourist competitive tendency index.

Territorial Organization

According to the Spanish Constitution (art. 148.1.18), Autonomous Regions enjoy competence in the promotion and regulation of tourism within the confines of their respective territories. Yet, it does not preclude intervention on the part of the State, which develops and undertakes international relationship; promotion and marketing of tourism abroad, design and development of tourist policy and overall co-ordination of regulation of tourist activity, in addition to its role in planning the national economy, in which, in the context of Spain, tourism is a basic key ingredient.

The Autonomous Regions have the competence for tourism promotion and organisation, urbanism, public works and infrastructures and historic heritage management in their own territories under the observance of the Constitution with regard to the rules conferring their powers.

The Local Entities (Provinces and Municipalities) enjoy their competence according to the Constitution rules for the distribution of powers taking into account their autonomy for managing their own interests. Their powers develop mainly in tourism promotion and information. Thus one important body is the Patronato de Turismo” (mostly in the main cities) and the “Congress Offices” depending on the “Patronato” to carry out an integral management of the city tourism promotion and supporting the private sector on their commercial strategy to gain the venue for Congress and Fairs.

Linkages

The distribution of powers creates a network of inter-administrative relations and various instruments of cooperation, whose functions are to bring coherence to the actions of public authorities in tourism matters. Cooperation is the key, since there are common interests that have to be appropriately matched and combined in order to ensure maximum possible operational effectiveness.

There are three examples of co-operation among administrations:

• Inter-Ministry Committee for Tourism (Comisión Interministerial de Turismo) to execute the Competitiveness Spanish Tourism Plan. The Committee is a collegiate, advisory and executive coordination organ whose members represent the different ministries of the national administration with competences related to tourism matters.
• The Sectoral Tourism Conference (Conferencia Sectorial de Turismo) is the collegiate, advisory and executive coordination body which gathers state representatives from the national administration and those responsible for tourism in the Autonomous Regions government. This body is multilateral and focuses on sectoral issues.
• Spanish Tourism Board (Consejo Español de Turismo –CONESTUR-) is an advisory body that gathers all the territorial tourism administrations (State, Regions and Provinces-Cities) and is represented also by the tourism private sector: Trade Chambers, the National Employer’s Association (CEOE), Professional Associations, Trade Unions and wide renowned tourism professionals. The Executive Committee (CECET) is presided by the General Secretary for Tourism and Domestic Trade.