Strategic Tourism Plan for the Pyrenees and Lands of Lleida

The Patronat de Turisme (Regional Tourist Board) of the Diputació de Lleida has promoted the update of the Pyrenees and the Lands of Lleida Strategic Tourism Plan for the period 2023-2026, which will serve as a road map for the tourism development of the destination in the coming years. Aware of the changes brought by the covid-19 pandemic, the aim of this plan was to update the diagnosis of the tourism activity in the destination, in order to adapt the strategy to the new global reality, trends, opportunities and challenges facing the tourism sector. 

The two main elements that had to be included in this strategic tourism plan were, on the one hand, tourism sustainability as a reference framework for the destination’s tourism model, and on the other hand, guaranteeing the participation of key agents in the Lleida tourism sector for the elaboration of the strategy.

As in all the strategic tourism planning projects that Pax#’s technical consulting team has developed in the past, the preparation of this plan was structured in four stages: an analytical stage of secondary information of the tourism destination, a diagnosis definition and the starting point of the current moment, defining the strategy adapted to the needs and will of the territory and, finally, an operational stage where the guidelines to be followed in the coming years were determined.

The new tourism strategy for the destination was derived from four guiding principles which, in short, are the pillars on which the tourism destination wants to continue working to maintain its competitiveness and continuous improvement: Tourism sustainability, Excellence, Shared responsibility and Innovation.

Based on these four pillars, a series of framework objectives were defined, specifically, a transversal framework objective: Dimensioning a sustainable and regenerative tourism model of the destination, and four specific framework objectives:

1. Strengthening co-management of tourism between all actors in the tourism system and also the resident.
2. Promoting the creation of innovative and sustainable tourism products and experiences.
3. Orientating the territory to the new tourism demand profiles related to the defined vision.
4. Developing the knowledge and capabilities of human talent in the destination.

During the development of this Strategic Tourism Plan, the participation of the Lleida tourism sector was materialized in two consultations with different purposes: an opinion survey on the territory tourism development addressed to the Regional Councils (Consells Comarcals), the Territorial Panel of Experts (Taula Territorial d’Experts) and the Regional Tourist Board of Lleida itself; and a survey to find out the product and profile of the current demand that is interested in the destination, aimed at the entire tourism sector. Finally, the participation culminated in a workshop to promote public-private collaborative work with the aim of defining priorities, guidelines and initiatives for tourism to be implemented in the 2023-2026 strategic period.

This Strategic Tourism Plan defines the way forward for the coming years to manage and develop the destination’s tourism activity, and it adapts to the changes produced around the world by the pandemic. It is an example of the importance of updating and adapting the tourism management strategies of destinations to the changing environment of tourism, in order to have the necessary tools for action at all times, ensuring a sustainable tourism model which is beneficial and competitive in time for all actors and systems involved.