Report 2013

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Catalonia, Spain and Europe are engulfed in a highly complex recession. It’s an economic, social, political and institutional crisis, and it is also ha-ving an impact on Barcelona. This presents a significant challenge.

In this complex environment, the experts and experience of many diffe-rent regions around the world regard large cities as the drivers of the global economy because it is here in the urban environment where inno-vation and creative talent is concentrated, and where wealth creation will take place. Large cities will therefore spearhead economic growth, and in Barcelona we want to leverage all our assets and potential in order to bring about an economic recovery, improving job creation, welfare and the quality of life of people.

Firstly, Barcelona City Council has made financial and budgetary robust-ness the cornerstones of our internal management because we unders-tand that this is the main way to ensure social policy. In 2012, the City Council ended the year with zero deficit, paying its suppliers at 30 days and increasing its level of gross savings compared to revenue streams. This approach to management is a source of international credibility.

The focus on the Council’s solvency and international credibility forms part of an ambitious medium and long term strategy. It aims to provide the city with a new economic model based on culture, knowledge, creati-vity, innovation and welfare, which will be applied in different areas.

Firstly, we have made a commitment to the new strategic sectors of the future. So, Barcelona is now in a position to become a world leading city in the areas of smart cities, the green economy, electric vehicles and self-sufficiency energy supplies. And at the same time we are engaged in a global collaboration in these areas in terms of innovation and research with other cities under the so-called City Protocol.

Regarding technology, in 2013 Barcelona became the Mobile World Ca-pital, a title it will hold until 2018. This is part of an industrial consoli-dation strategy for the mobile sector, explained in a special feature in this report, and which complements the Mobile World Congress that this city hosts annually. This will certainly be an opportunity to create new businesses and to attract investment and talent related to new mobile technologies to Barcelona and its metropolitan area.

We will also make cultural and sports events into true generators of eco-nomic activity, mainly by hosting international benchmark events. Over the coming years we will consolidate a number of cultural projects in Barcelona that are special because of their value in terms of innovation and creativity, contemporary art, design and because they aim to preserve our heritage, like El Born Centre Cultural, and the Fabra i Coats Centre, amongst others. As for sport, this year we have organized the X-Games extreme sports event in Barcelona, which we will host until 2015, and the

World Swimming Championships, both benchmark sports events, which generate economic activity and international brand awareness.

We will continue to progress as a city that is committed to knowledge and lifelong training, from nursery school to university, and also voca-tional training. This is a city that is committed to excellence regarding masters and doctoral programmes. We are also helping to foster greater interaction between universities and business sectors in the city, with projects like the new Besòs Technology Campus in the Forum area.

We need to promote our infrastructure and logistics sector to make Bar-celona the economic capital of southern Europe and the Mediterranean. A priority is the building of a definitive railway access into the port of Bar-celona, widening the Ronda Litoral ring road, finishing the High Speed Sagrera station and finalising the so-called Mediterranean Corridor so that it becomes the backbone of an economic mega-region running from Valencia to Lyon.

For sure, Barcelona has great strengths and tremendous potential. It has a diversified economy based on industry, commerce, fashion, design, fo-odstuffs and services. It is a leader in the field of tourism, an undeniable source of wealth for the city, which last year again beat all-time records, reaching 7.4 million visitors and 16 million overnight stays. And there is also great potential in the logistics area, thanks to the fact we have a major port, airport, the Zona Franca free trade zone, the Fira de Barce-lona trade fair, and Mercabarna all concentrated in a small area with a privileged geostrategic position.

The last key to Barcelona’s economic model is its ability to become inter-nationally renowned for being open to the world. This is a major benefit to the city, and a tremendous economic advantage if we know how to leverage the possibilities. The city is promoting and managing its most valuable and key competitive advantage, its brand, via Barcelona Growth, which is a shared project along with other stakeholders in civil society. We want companies to use brand Barcelona to promote their businesses and help contribute to the city’s positioning as a privileged place with a clear orientation towards economic and business growth.

In presenting the Barcelona Observatory’s eleventh annual report, I would like to convey my congratulations to the technical team for their work and acknowledge the involvement of all the institutions and orga-nizations that have again given their support to furthering the advan-cement of public-private collaboration. This way of working together, sharing innovative formulas, will be one of the keys to driving Barcelona forward.

Xavier TriasMayor of Barcelona

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This year the Observatory of Barcelona features two special reports car-ried out by Barcelona Chamber of Commerce’s Economic and Infrastruc-ture Studies Department. Firstly, for the third consecutive year we will be presenting a special report on the business climate in the metropolitan area of Barcelona (AMB). And secondly, we have a special report on the mobile sector ecosystem in Barcelona and Catalonia, which is the first study marking out the areas of economic activity that define this sector, something that is particularly important given its transversal character. The study quantifies the sector’s impact on the city and the Catalan eco-nomy as a whole in terms of turnover, employment and number of com-panies.

The special report on the business climate in the metropolitan area (AMB) presents an analysis of the results obtained from the ‘Survey on Busi-ness Climate’ conducted by Barcelona’s Chamber of Commerce and the Statistics Institute of Catalonia. The survey shows how Catalan employers evaluated 2012’s results and asks about their forecasts for 2013 in terms of turnover, employment and investment, providing unique and exclusive information about the business world, and therefore of special significan-ce for this city, especially given the current economic climate.

2012 was a tough year. We started the year by falling into recession again, not even two years after having left behind the previous one, which began in mid-2008 and lasted until early 2010. On the one hand, internal adjust-ments were made to meet deficit goals in order to stabilize our financial system and this led to significant sacrifices. On the other hand, we suffe-red from a rising sovereign debt crisis in the euro area, which has led to increased funding difficulties for our economy and a slowdown in foreign trade, which is what had allowed us until then to compensate for our slug-gish domestic demand. In 2012, foreign trade helped soften the impact of the recession, but this was not sufficient to stop us again falling into recession.

However, the results of the survey carried out jointly by the Chamber of Commerce and Statistics Institute of Catalonia on the business climate shows an improvement in business expectations for 2013 in the AMB re-gion. Results are less negative and forecasts show a more moderate fall in turnover and employment than compared to 2012, and stabilization in the decline in investment. According to employers, the fall in turnover and investment in 2013 will each be around 4% nominal, while employment across the metropolitan area of Barcelona will fall by 3%. Also, it’s worth noting that export prospects for 2013 in Catalonia are more positive than in the EU, according to a survey by Eurochambres, with whom Barcelona Chamber of Commerce has worked for over 15 years.

The internationalization of Barcelona is a key factor for growth, especially in these times of weak domestic demand. Public bodies should contribu-te by helping companies so this process does not stop, so that there are

more and more companies that open markets abroad and so this process becomes more robust, meaning that it becomes a regular part of com-pany strategy and that this has continuity in time.

However, we should not forget that it is equally important to continue trying to boost economic activity at home. And this includes both the cre-ation and expansion of national businesses and attracting foreign capital and business activity. The mobile sector is one of the sectors that Barce-lona is strategically committed to in terms of making it a driver of growth for companies that are already established in the city and a magnet for business and foreign investment. The study we are presenting in this edi-tion of the Barcelona Observatory report reflects on just how important this economic sector has become. Specifically, the study focuses on the characteristics of the so-called mobile ecosystem in Barcelona and Cata-lonia, in order to identify the basis on which future expectations of growth and positioning are being built for Barcelona in this field, taking into ac-count global industry trends.

In summary, I would like to highlight that the mobile ecosystem in Ca-talonia is made up of nearly 2,400 companies that provide employment to almost 39,500 people, generating a turnover of close to 5,400 million euros in 2011, according to the latest data available. Similarly to what is happening in the telecommunications sector, the mobile ecosystem in Catalonia is concentrated almost entirely in the Barcelona area, which accounts for 85% of all companies, 90% of workers, and 94% of turnover. Likewise, Catalonia represents nearly a quarter of all the companies in this sector in Spain, 16% of all jobs, and 9% of turnover.

The mobile and mobility sectors don’t just offer clear growth opportuniti-es; they can also be drivers of all those other sectors that are linked to it directly. This is especially the case for consulting activities in information technology, because of the number of companies working in the sector, the amount of people working in these sectors and in terms of business turnover. Two other areas that are also relevant, although not so impor-tant as consulting activities, are computer programming and other acti-vities in telecommunications. In the industrial sector, the most important sectors related to the mobile ecosystem are the manufacturing of instru-ments and appliances for measuring, testing and navigation, including the production of sensors for navigation systems like GPS satellites, and the manufacturing of electronic components.

I want to finish by thanking the technical team for their work and effort and the continuous improvements to the Barcelona Observatory project and also to all the entities that have once again given their support, provi-ding information and enriching the content of this report.

Miquel Valls i MasedaPresident of the Chamber of Commerce of Barcelona

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BARCELONA CITY COUNCIL

Sònia Recasens i AlsinaDeputy Mayor for the Economy, Business and Employment

Jordi Joly i LenaGeneral Manager of the Area of Economy, Businessand Employment

Àngels Santigosa i CopeteDirector of the Department of StudiesArea of Economy, Business and Employment

BARCELONA CHAMBER OF COMMERCE

Miquel Valls i MasedaPresident

Xavier Carbonell i RouraGeneral Manager

Joan Ramon Rovira i HomsHead of the Economic and Infrastructure Studies

TECHNICAL STAFFDepartment of Studies, Area of Economy, Businessand Employment, Barcelona City Council

Teresa Udina i AbellóEconomist

Barcelona Chamber of Commerce’s Economicand Infrastructure Studies Department:

Cristian Bardají FerrazCivil engineer

Ana Belmonte RodriguezEconomist

Sandra Gutiérrez CuberoStatistics and degree holder in market research

Anaís Tarragó Guarro Economist

Graphic design and coordination:

Toni FresnoBarcelona Chamber of Commerce

Design layout:

DVA Associats

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6 Introduction

10 Barcelona’s Key Statistics

14 Barcelona Observatory

18 Results

20 City for business

21 Introduction22 Best European cities for business23 Global competitiveness of cities across the world24 Entrepreneurial activity in OECD countries25 Business prospects in the European Union27 Main world cities receiving foreign investment projects28 Best European cities for shopping29 Main world cities organizing international meetings

30 Knowledge society

31 Introduction32 Population employed in technology manufacturing and services sectors in European regions34 Population employed in science and technology and expenditure on research and development in European regions36 Top cities in the world for scientific production 37 Patent applications in the main regional areas of the OECD

40 Tourism

41 Introduction42 Top European airports by volume of passengers43 International tourism in cities across the world44 Cruises at the world’s main ports46

Observatory of Barcelona 2013 Report. Summary

46 Sustainability and quality of life

47 Introduction48 Environmental commitment of European companies49 Best European cities in terms of quality of life of workers50 Quality of life and urban prosperity in world cities51 Best European cities in terms of internal transport52 Social and cultural character of global cities

54 Prices and costs

55 Introduction56 Corporation Tax and VAT in countries around the world57 Cost of living in cities around the world 58 Office rental prices in cities around the world59 Retail rental prices in cities around the world60 Industrial space rental prices in European cities61 Wage levels in cities around the world

62 Labour market and training

63 Introduction64 Employment rate in European regions66 Unemployment rate in European regions67 Workers with tertiary education in European regions68 Best European business schools

70 Synthesis

78 Special reports

80 Business Climate in the Metropolitan Area of Barcelona Situation 2012 and prospects 2013. Barcelona Chamber of Commerce’s Economic and Infrastructure Studies Department

90 The Mobile Ecosystem in Barcelona and Catalonia Barcelona Chamber of Commerce’s Economic and Infrastructure Studies Department

_Introduction

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2012 was characterized by another slowdown in global economic growth, which fell to 3.2%, although this was clearly different from one geographic area to another. The main emerging economies continue to be the ones that are growing although more moderately than before, while the U.S. and Japanese economies have maintained GDP growth of around 2%. In the euro area economic activity has dropped off, falling back into recession due to the worsening crisis regarding the financial system and sovereign debt problems.

The epicentre of this recession is still located in southern Europe, whe-re a deterioration in finances generated by a vicious circle of bank debt, private debt and public debt has been transferred into the real economy, compounded by a contraction effect caused by austerity and fiscal consoli-dation policies. This has led to a decline in activity affecting the whole con-tinent. This situation, coupled with the growing importance and dynamism of emerging countries in the current phase of globalization, poses highly significant competitive challenges in urban areas located in this geograp-hic area.

In this difficult economic situation, the international dimension of Barcelo-na’s economy has become the main driver of activity. In 2012 indicators like exports and the influx of tourists reached record highs again, and the city retains a strong international position in various fields relevant to econo-mic and business activities. It’s worth noting that in 2012 the Mori Memo-rial Foundation’s synthetic Global Power City Index , made up of 70 indica-tors sorted into six urban competitiveness categories (cultural interaction, quality of life, environment, accessibility, R&D and economics), included Barcelona for the first time, awarding it 13th place in the world and seventh in Europe in the global competitiveness ranking featuring 40 major cities worldwide. As well, Barcelona occupied sixth place in terms of European executives’ preferred locations for setting up a business in 2011, according to the European Cities Monitor by Cushman & Wakefield. It has now been in the top six of the ranking for the decade 2001-2011. Other prestigious sources confirm this favourable evaluation, like KPMG’s Global Cities In-vestment Monitor, that shows metropolitan Barcelona is the 12th top reci-pient of foreign investment projects in 2012 in the world, or The Economist Intelligence Unit’s Hot Spots: Benchmarking Global City Competitiveness report, that shows Barcelona is amongst the top ten cities in the world in terms of its global appeal, social and cultural character.

Barcelona City Council’s Strategic Framework 2012-2015 encapsulates the city’s vision and objectives and establishes a roadmap for the next four years, with two main priorities: economic recovery and quality of life and wellbeing. Regarding economic progress, the following objectives have been defined for Barcelona:

• Make metropolitan Barcelona the logistics capital of southern Europe.

• Encourage high-added value emerging sectors and strengthen the city’s position in economic sectors where Barcelona is strong in order to make it a benchmark.

• Generate the right conditions for attracting investment capital to the city.

• Strengthen the international contribution to Barcelona’s economy.

• Support SMEs and the self-employed, and promote entrepreneurship.

• Make Barcelona an easy place for doing business (business friendly).

• Make Barcelona a city of culture, knowledge, creativity and science, crea-ting a favourable environment to attract and retain talent.

The so-called Barcelona Growth commission is a collective initiative launched in 2012 and led by Barcelona City Council. Its remit is to imple-ment these strategic objectives and create the right conditions for econo-mic growth and act as a very practical driver for the country, working fast in network fashion to create real impact. The first phase of the project dealt with six priority areas (international promotion, redefining the role of the administration, financing, talent and entrepreneurship, society and con-nected Barcelona), and this initiative helped create a 30-point action plan that includes concrete measures for short-run implementation.

Given this initial momentum, Barcelona’s strategy for economic develop-ment took another step forward in 2013 with the creation of Barcelona Growth, the Barcelona brand agency, a widespread partnership agreement with two basic functions:

• Achieve alignment in terms of public and private stakeholders and their respective assets, between, say, Barcelona Activa, the Chamber of Com-merce, Acc10, Fira de Barcelona, Turisme de Barcelona, and the city’s bu-siness sector, etc, in order to position Barcelona as a privileged city favou-rable for economic and business growth.

• Manage, coordinate and promote the Barcelona brand use for companies to leverage.

9

The development of these two functions is part of this international voca-tion that the city has, on the understanding that the city and its companies are competing on an international stage, and that its potential depends on becoming a global capital, a creative business city, a hub of knowledge and a centre of international business and economic growth.

To achieve this objective, five of the 30 measures developed by the Barce-lona Growth initiative will be implemented:

a) The Barcelona Brand is a publicly and collectively-owned asset that will be coordinated, developed, and promoted in partnership with all other sta-keholders, making it available to companies to use so they can promote themselves and grow.

b) The Business Support Office is addressed at both local and foreign com-panies, and it’s designed as a ‘one-stop’ interface between business and government, dealing with bureaucratic procedures and municipal tax pay-ments, the management of tender bids, the issuance of certificates, or the online processing of companies, etc. It will also offer a range of support services to businesses, such as access to finance, the demand for profes-sionals, looking for business opportunities or business spaces in the city, always acting as an advisory body.

c) The creation of Barcelona Data Resource Center, an innovative space designed to present the city from a business and economic stand point to different sectors, offering all kinds of data related to the local economy and receiving international delegations (businesses, institutions and aca-demics) that come to Barcelona with the aim of generating synergies with businesses and services in the metropolitan area.

d) Leverage the city’s position as capital of the mobile industry and make it a driver of economic growth in different sectors, widening the use of new mobile technologies throughout business activities and working to consolidate the industrial legacy of being the mobile capital until 2018 in the Barcelona area. In a global environment where mobile technology is viewed as a key factor in the overall growth of the economy, this project represents a strategic opportunity to position the city as an international leader in the technology area.

e) Create a Free Trade Zone for Entrepreneurs, a zone that is tax free for those launching new projects assessed as having high potential value in areas related to mobile technologies and / or any industry that can take advantage of this technology or a service that was perhaps once catalo-gued as traditional, yet could be re-orientated by adopting this technology.

The Media-TIC building will be the flagship centre of this Barcelona Growth project because it will house the Mobile World Capital and the development of what will be the city’s industrial legacy in this area, the Business Support Office, the Barcelona Data Resource Center, and the Free Trade Zone for Entrepreneurs, in addition to offering a wide range of talent training ac-tivities. It will be the very expression of the Barcelona brand, a resource centre for companies, a place for direct dialogue with government, and a symbol of a Barcelona that is focused on enterprise and economic growth. Its location at the heart of the 22@ district means there will be additional synergies with the new design centre called DHUB, Barcelona Activa and other relevant stakeholders.

Barcelona is immersed in a complex context in which the economic and fi-nancial crisis and global trends are posing significant competitive challen-ges to urban areas in southern Europe. We have valuable and competitive assets like a diversified economy, a dynamic export base, strong tourism, municipal financial solvency and a strong Barcelona brand positioning which provides a benchmark in terms of quality. The city is facing the futu-re with a re-focused strategic roadmap and new innovative public-private collaboration ideas to drive the city on towards a production model based on knowledge, creativity and sustainability, and as such position itself as an international benchmark in terms of economic and business growth.

Observatory of Barcelona 2013 Report. Introduction

10

11_Barcelona’s Key Statistics

12

BARCELONA’S KEY STATISTICS

Rabat

Dublin

Paris

London

Oslo Stockholm

Berlin

Prague

Warsow

Athens

Bilbao

Brussel·s

Amsterdam

Frankfurt

Rome

Algiers Tunis

MadridLisbon

Palma

Lyon

Geneva

Milan

Seville

Zaragosa

Zurich

Munich

1000 Km1800 Km

1h 40min.2h 30min

Copenhagen

Observatory of Barcelona 2013 Report. Barcelona’s Key Statistics

13

Surface area (km2)PopulationForeign population (% of total)Density (habitants / km2)Climate (Can Bruixa Observatory) 2011 Average monthly temperature Yearly rainfall (mm) Hours of sun

MACROECONOMIC DATAGDP (var. int %) - CataloniaSocial Security membershipUnemployment rate 16-64 years old (%)Employment rate 16-64 years old (%)Activity rate 16-64 years old (%)CPI (average var. %) - Barcelona Prov.Exports (million €)- Barcelona Prov.Imports (million €)- Barcelona Prov.Foreign investment outflows (million €) - CataloniaForeign investment outflows (million d’€) - CataloniaCompanies - Barcelona Prov.Foreign companies in Catalonia*

RETAIL AND TOURISMRetail premises -Barcelona Prov. (Jan 2012)Major open air shopping areasMunicipal markets (number and surface area m2)Hotels Number Beds Tourists

INFRASTRUCTUREAirport Runways (Number and length in m) Passengers International passengers (%)

Port Land surface area (ha) Docks and moorings (km) Total transit (thousands of tonnes)

Barcelona Trade Fair Trade fairs Visits to Fira de Barcelona* Hall surface area taken up by fairs (m2)* International meetings*

Universities in CataloniaUniversity students in Catalonia (course 2010/2011)*Foreign schools (Barcelona Prov.)Innovative companies in Catalonia *

Beaches (number and metres)Bike lanes (km and bicing users)Public libraries (number and users)Museums, collections and exhibition spaces (number and users)Public sports facilities (number and users)*Theatre, concert and cinema spectators*

102.21,620,943

17.515,860

17.2ºC699

2,597.7

-1.3969,093

19,064.379.3

2.945,034.454,039.6

1,239.72,602.9446,147

5,061

70,82122

43;208,465

35265,100

7,440,113

3/3352;2660;254035,145,176

67.4

1,065.320.3

41,487.4

611,965,384

747,2632,283

12247,571

384,543

7;4.410186.7;113,787

38;6,439,11245;18,604,4021776;194,656

12,213,301

GEOGRAPHICAL ENVIRONMENT

ECONOMIC ENVIRONMENT

TRAINING AND CITY OF KNOWLEDGE

QUALITAT DE VIDA

Note: Data from 2012, except *2011Source: AENA, Barcelona City Council, Caixa Catalunya Provincial Yearbook, Barcelona Trade Fair, Autonomous Regional Government of Catalonia, Idescat, INE, National Institute of Meteorology, Spanish Ports Authority, Secretary of State for Trade, Barcelona Tourism Board and Barcelona Institute of Culture, Spain’s Ministry of Education.

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15_Barcelona Observatory

16

17

Presentation of the Observatory of Barcelona 2013 Report

The Observatory of Barcelona is an initiative promoted by the City Council and the Chamber of Commerce. It is supported by a large number of orga-nizations in the city that year after year collaborate by providing informati-on and making key contributions on their sectors.

This 11th edition of the annual report of the Observatory of Barcelona conti-nues to offer references that can be used for decision-making by economic stakeholders interested in doing business or setting up in Barcelona, or for attracting talent, and supporting candidatures to win events or the opening of headquarters in Barcelona. With this in mind, and like every year, the report presents Barcelona’s position with respect to other major cities in the world by way of a series of economic and social benchmark indicators.

The 2013 Report presents a number of features as summarized below in a clear and direct way:

• A selection of significant indicators that offer the reader a synthetic and efficient presentation of the city’s relevant qualities from the point of view of its positioning, its characteristics and challenges. Specifically, this cur-rent report presents 30 indicators. New indicators included this edition are: ‘Overall competitiveness of cities across the world’, included in the chapter called ‘City for business’, and ‘Quality of life and urban prosperity’ included in the chapter called ‘Sustainability and quality of life’.

• Visual elements for each indicator, like graphs or maps, help bring understanding to the results and analysis of the trends.

• A summary table draws together indicators in order to see Barcelona’s position.

• The incorporation of a special report carried out by the Chamber of Commerce analyses the business climate in the Metropolitan Area of Barcelona in 2012 and the prospects for 2013, including specific analysis in terms of the main economic sectors. Future scenarios are considered based on the opinions of employers about the business environment found in Catalonia and Barcelona.

The publication includes the following sections:

• A general introduction about the situation and the city’s preferred action programmes for the economy.

• A section with the results of 30 indicators presented in six thematic areas: business, knowledge, tourism, sustainability and quality of life, costs and pri-ces, and labour market and training.

• A special report prepared by the Chamber of Commerce analyzes the business climate in 2012 and the outlook for metropolitan Barcelona’s eco-nomy in 2013.

• A special report on the mobile phone ecosystem in Barcelona and Cata-lonia: global trends and opportunities of being the mobile capital, produced by the Chamber of Commerce.

• A summary section where you can see Barcelona’s position compared to the main benchmark cities in a visual and synthetic way.

The Observatory of Barcelona is characterized by the following features:

• It is made up of a set of indicators defined mainly at the city level, but which can be extended to other territorial levels.

• The data obtained comes from a sample that, in some cases, includes sixty cities worldwide. Note that for seven of the indicators, due to sample size, a selection has been made that includes the main urban areas.

• The indicators include, where possible, a graph showing trends in order to assess progress in each specific area.

• Information sources are recognized international organizations and ins-titutions.

• Data and information collected is as up-to-date as possible, based on availability.

_

_

_Results

_City for business

It’s also worth noting how the rate of entrepreneurial activity in Catalonia and the province of Barcelona grew for first time in five years in 2011 to stand at 6.8% and 7%, respectively.

Meanwhile, Barcelona is the third top city in the world in terms of hosting most international meetings in 2011. Barcelona’s commerce and trade is also well considered by foreigners, with Barcelona taking second place in a ranking of the world’s best cities for shopping by international tourists, according to the Global Shopper City Index. It was also one of the top ten destinations preferred by international distribution companies in 2012, ac-cording to Jones Lang LaSalle.

Given these favourable results for Barcelona, public institutions have been trying to improve the city’s positioning in the world and to bring about an economic recovery. At the beginning of 2013 the City Council announced a new initiative called Barcelona Growth in collaboration with private sector stakeholders to promote the city’s economic growth through internatio-nal initiatives to help attract new investment and talent by adopting five measures: promoting the Barcelona brand, creating a Business Advisory Office, the Barcelona Data Resource Center, and leveraging the mobile world capital to drive other economic sectors and set up a special free trade zone for entrepreneurs.

Two of these measures will be developed through a collaborative agre-ement between the City and the Chamber of Commerce: firstly, the Bu-siness Advisory Office, aimed at both local and foreign companies, offers large companies, SMEs, micro firms and self-employed entrepreneurs advisory services about how to get local administration paperwork com-pleted, like registering a company, bidding on public tenders and the is-suance of certificates, and how to access to a wide range of support ser-vices; and secondly, the Barcelona Date Resource Center, a place where visiting international delegations (businesses, institutions and academics) can get information they might need when deciding whether to set up a new business or make new investments.

Introduction

2012 was characterized by a new slump in GDP in the euro area, which is again in recession after a worsening of the sovereign debt crisis in pe-ripheral countries, including Spain. This escalation has been spilled over into other economies through financial channels and this has led to a slowdown in global economic growth for the second consecutive year. This financial tension has also been felt in the economies of Catalonia and Bar-celona, which just like Spain, again fell into recession in early 2012, just two years after leaving the previous one behind, registering falls in GDP over the whole year.

External demand partly offset sluggish domestic demand in 2012, which confirms that the internationalization of Barcelona’s economy is its main competitive advantage in the current economic climate. It’s worth noting the dynamic nature of foreign trade in 2012 and the positive trends in ex-ports in the Barcelona area, which rose to 45,0344 million euro, the hig-hest ever in the data series, and an inter-annual variation of 6.4% com-pared to 2011, which consolidates the area’s role as the main exporter in the Spanish economy. Catalan business people’s perception about 2013 confirms the continuity of this trend. In fact, export forecasts for Catalonia are the most positive in the European Union, according to a survey by Eu-rochambres, while turnover continues to fall.

Given this context of economic difficulties, international positioning beco-mes a hugely important competitive advantage. In 2012 we can highlight a synthetic indicator put together by the Mori Memorial Foundation for their Global Power City Index, made up of 70 indicators sorted into six categori-es according to areas of urban competitiveness (cultural interaction, qua-lity of life, environment, accessibility, R&D and economy), which included Barcelona for the first time, placing it 13th in the world and seventh in Europe in terms of its global competitiveness among 40 major cities in the world. As well, Barcelona was European executives’ sixth-most preferred place for locating a business in 2011, according to the European Cities Mo-nitor by Cushman & Wakefield. What’s important to note is the strength and robustness of this position, having been in the same top six from 2001 to 2011.

The image of Barcelona abroad improves its ability to attract foreign in-vestment. Indeed, Barcelona stood in 12th place in the ranking of major international cities receiving international investment projects in 2012, ac-cording to the Global Cities Investment Monitor by KPMG. As well, from 2008 to 2012, Barcelona recorded 399 foreign investment projects, which places it amongst the top 10 global cities favoured by international inves-tors. Moreover, the Financial Times Ltd’s fDi magazine placed Barcelona and Catalonia fourth and second respectively in their global rankings of FDI promotional strategy, with these positioned at the head of cities and regions in the southern regions of Europe in their report called ‘fDi Cities and Regions of the Future 2012/2013’.

22

Best European cities for business in 2011

Note: In 1990, the study only included 25 citiesSource: Cushman & Wakefield, European Cities Monitor 2011

Source: Cushman & Wakefield, European Cities Monitor

1235

151117

412

789

196

141316

:18

:25

:20

:23

:::

2110

::

24::

22

123675849

131411161015121718192024262225213135233029273233342836

123456789

101112131415161718192021222324252627282930313233343536

LondonParisFrankfurtAmsterdamBerlinBarcelonaMadridBrusselsMunichZurichGenevaMilanStockholmDüsseldorfHamburgManchesterLisbonBirminghamLyonDublinWarsawIstanbulViennaCopenhagenPragueHelsinkiBucharestLeedsBudapestGlasgowEdinburghBratislavaMoscowOsloRomeAthens

City Ranking 2010 Ranking 2011Ranking 1990

Positioning of Barcelona

2009 2010 2011200820072006200520042003200220011990

444

5 55

6 6666

11

Barcelona, sixth best European city for business

The prestigious European Cities Monitor report by Cushman & Wakefield placed Barcelona sixth-best European city for business in 2011. The report, based on the opinions of 500 senior executives from European compani-es, saw Barcelona drop one place compared to 2010’s ranking, overtaking Brussels but falling behind Amsterdam and Berlin. The top ranked cities remained London, Paris and Frankfurt.

It’s worth highlighting that in the decade between 2001 and 2011 Barcelona continuously featured in the top six positions in this ranking, while in 1990 it occupied 11th place, which shows its progression. Moreover, the results show that behind the three urban areas that lead the ranking, there is a group of five cities including Barcelona, Amsterdam, Berlin, Madrid and Brussels that are competing strongly with each other.

Similarly, the 2011 report highlights Barcelona as being the second best city in Europe in terms of promotion and the third best in terms of being perceived as being a centre for business and sixth for office space availabi-lity and internal mobility.

Observatory of Barcelona 2013 Report. City for business

23

Global competitiveness of cities across the world in 2012

Barcelona, amongst top 15 cities in terms of global competitiveness

The Mori Global Power City Index -which compares 40 cities in the world in terms of their global competitiveness- included Barcelona for the first time in 2012, awarding it 13th place in the world and seventh in Europe. The ran-king is led by London, New York, Paris and Tokyo, Barcelona got an overall score close to those of Beijing and Frankfurt, slightly higher than those of Shanghai, Sydney and Stockholm.

Japan’s Mori Memorial Foundation has been working with universities and renowned think-tanks since 2008 to produce the synthetic Global Power City Index based on 70 indicators sorted into six categories, according to areas of urban competitiveness. In the 2012 edition, Barcelona was among the top ten cities in the world in terms of the category called cultural inte-raction, where it came sixth, behind London, Paris, New York, Berlin and Singapore; it came eighth in the quality of life category. As for environmental issues, it came in 11th place, while in terms of accessibility it stood 15th, and in research and development it was 24th, and 36th in the economic category.

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10111213141516171819202122232425

City Ranking

LondonNew YorkParisTokyoSingaporeSeoulAmsterdamBerlinHong KongViennaBeijingFrankfurtBarcelonaShanghaiSydneyStockholmOsakaZurichBrusselsCopenhagenTorontoMadridLos AngelesVancouverIstanbul

Mori Global Power City Index

Source: Mori Global Power City Index. Institute for Urban Strategies. The Mori Memorial Foundation.

Source: Mori Global Power City Index. Institut of urban Strategies. The Mori Memorial Foundation

0

5

10

15

20

25

30

35

40

Categories of urban competitiveness. Positioning of Barcelona

Environment AccessibilityLivabilityCultural interaction

R&DEconomy

36

24

68

11 15

24

Entrepreneurial activity in OECD countries in 2011

First rise in the rate of entrepreneurial activity in five years

According to data from the Global Entrepreneurship Monitor (GEM), the rate of entrepreneurial activity (TEA) in 2011 of the resident population in the province of Barcelona stood at 7%, a rise of 1.5 percent and up for the first time in five years, which is similar to what occurred in Catalonia (6.8%) and Spain (5.8%), in the latter’s case after four years. Barcelona’s TEA was again above those of France (5.7%), Finland (6.3%) and Switzerland (6.6%), which had overtaken the city in 2010, and it remains higher than the TEAs of Belgium (5.7%) and Germany (5.6%).

The increase in entrepreneurship rates is widespread across the majority of the European continent, especially in some Eastern European countries that cause an overall increase in the European Union average (7.6%), which is higher than Barcelona’s TEA. In terms of the OECD, those countries with the highest rates of entrepreneurial activity correspond to countries with positive growth rates in GDP during the period of economic slowdown, such as China, Argentina and Brazil.

The Barcelona area exceeds the European Union average regarding rates of consolidated entrepreneurs (8.9%) and it also shows lower rates of busi-ness dropout (1.7%), while indicators show the proportion of the adult popu-lation involved in business processes (26.4%) is lower than the EU average, as is the rate of new entrepreneurs (2.8%).

Entrepreneurial activity(% of population 18-64 years old)

Country

Entrepreneurial activity (% of population 18-64 years old )

ChinaArgentinaBrazilSlovakiaUnited StatesLatviaPolandNetherlandsGreeceEU averageUKBarcelonaCataloniaSwitzerlandFinlandHungarySpainBelgiumFranceGermanyJapanDenmarkRussia

24.0 20.814.914.212.311.9

9.98.28.07.67.37.06.86.66.36.35.85.75.75.65.24.64.6

Note: Entrepreneurial activity includes new companies (less than 3 months of activity) and start-ups (3 to 42 months of activity). The source sample contains a total of 45 countries and the table shows selected benchmark countries.Source: Global Entrepreneurship Monitor (GEM). Catalonia Executive Report 2011.

5.8

76.8

5.7

8.2

5.7

4.6

6.3

6.3

4.6

11.9

14.2

9.9

7.3

ESP

BCNCAT

FRAGER

NED

BEL

RUS

FIN

HON

DENLET

SLO

POL

UK

Source: Global Entrepreneurship Monitor, Catalonia Executive Report 2011.

5.6

8

GRE

Observatory of Barcelona 2013 Report. City for business

25

Business prospects for 2013in the European Union

Catalonia is in the top 5 in terms of positive export forecasts

Business prospects in Catalonia for 2013 are generally unfavourable, ex-cept for the case of exports, according a survey by Eurochambres. Indeed, Catalan executives’ forecasts for exports are the most positive in the EU, beaten only by those of Latvia, Portugal and Denmark. Specifically, in Ca-talonia, 56% of business executives expect that exports will grow, while 15% believe they will decrease. In contrast, 27% of Catalan business exe-cutives expect turnover to fall, higher than those forecasting a sales in-crease (23%), which places Catalonia, along with Spain, at the bottom of the EU ranking. The same trend is seen in terms of investment: in Cata-lonia, 27% of executives expect investment to decrease in 2013, exceeding the 11% that expect it to grow, which is only above rates seen in Finland, Spain, Slovenia and Cyprus.

(p) FUNCAS forecasts (December 2012)Source: Chamber of Commerce from Eurochambres, IDESCAT and FUNCAS forecasts

80

60

40

20

0

-20

-40

12

9

6

3

0

-3

-6

Business prospects in Catalonia

Turn

over

(Bal

ance

in %

)

Rea

l GD

P (v

ar. y

ear,

in %

)

2011 20122010200920082007

TurnoverReal GDP

2.7

55

-0.2

57

-4

3

0.4

100,7

23

-1.3

8

2013

-1.3 (p)

-4

26

LatviaPortugalDenmarkCatalonia (Barcelona)EstoniaMaltaRomaniaBelgiumSlovakiaItalySpain* EU27PolandBulgariaAustriaSwedenNetherlandsSloveniaLuxembourgGermanyCyprusCzech RepublicFinlandHungary

LatviaRomaniaMaltaEstoniaSwedenPolandBelgiumItalyBulgariaHungaryGermanyPortugalDenmarkSlovakia* EU27AustriaLuxembourgNetherlandsCzech RepublicCatalonia (Barcelona)FinlandSpainSloveniaCyprus

856544413535332726252417171716141111

875

-3-5

-10

351818171411

664432210

-1-2-7

-10-16-18-19-27-37

Country CountryExports

(Balance in %)Investment

(Balance in %)69583737342826252419181311

99862

-1-4-6-8

-39

CountryTurnover

(Balance in %)LatviaEstoniaRomaniaPolandBelgiumMaltaSwedenDenmarkBulgariaHungarySlovakiaAustria* EU27NetherlandsPortugalLuxembourgFinlandItalyCzech RepublicCatalonia (Barcelona)SpainSloveniaCyprus

Note: The amounts are calculated as the difference between the percentage of answers indicating ‘increase’ and percentage indicating ‘decrease’.This year there is no regional level information because regional participation has been very heterogeneous by country.* Sample average Source: Eurochambres, The Business Climate in Europe’s Regions in 2013

Observatory of Barcelona 2013 Report. City for business

27

Main world cities receiving foreign investment projects in 2012

13245789

106

1415121311

LondonHong KongShanghaiSao PauloNew YorkBeijingMoscowSydneySan FranciscoParisMumbaiBarcelonaDüsseldorfBangaloreDublin

351239233233146133129127114108107102

949390

2011 Projects 2012Region (City)

Source: Global Cities Investment Monitor 2013, KPMG

Source: Global Cities Investment Monitor 2013, KPMG

International foreign investment projects (absolute numbers), 2008-2012

SaoPaulo

MoscowHong Kong

ShanghaiLondon

Barcelona climbs three positions to stand in 12th position in the world ranking

According to the Global Cities Investment Monitor by KPMG, in 2012 Bar-celona received 102 foreign investment projects, an increase for the se-cond year running, leaving behind the fall experienced in 2010. This me-ans that Barcelona climbed three positions compared to 2011 to become the 12th favourite city for foreign investors, above Dusseldorf, Bangalore and Dublin.

It’s worth noting that Barcelona accounts for 35% of all foreign invest-ment projects recorded in Spain, followed by Madrid with 23%. This per-centage is the same registered by Paris compared to France (35%) and it is very close to levels seen in London compared to the UK, or Moscow compared to Russia (both 39%).

In the period 2008-2012, Barcelona recorded 399 foreign investment pro-jects, which puts it among the top 10 global cities preferred by foreign investors.

2012132456789

101112131415

Foreign investment projects (number)

Paris Beijing NewYork

Sídney Barcelona

1.375

1.133966

661 654 641618

477 462399

28

Barcelona, second best European city for shopping

In 2011, Barcelona was declared the second best city in Europe for shopping, alongside Madrid, according to a vote by international tourists, reports the Glo-bal Shopper City Index compiled by the Economist Intelligence Unit (EIU) from a comparison of 33 major cities on the continent.

Also, it’s worth noting that Barcelona achieved similar results to London, the top city in the ranking. The report highlights the robustness of Barcelona’s second place and especially its results across all categories considered in the index: in terms of shops, affordability, convenience, hotels and transport, and culture and climate, while London’s evaluations vary considerably between items, with favourable results for some of the categories and unfavourable ones in others. The EIU report highlights Barcelona’s attractiveness in terms of cuisine and the low prices of brand name products, as well as shop opening times and retail discounts.

According to Destination Europe, a report by Jones Lang LaSalle, in 2012 Bar-celona ranked tenth-top in Europe in terms of its attractiveness for international retail businesses, close to Munich, Prague and San Petersburg, but above Ber-lin, Amsterdam and Brussels.

Best European cities for shopping in 2011 1

22456789

101112131415161718192020222324242626282930313233

LondonBarcelonaMadridParisRomeBerlinLisbonAmsterdamPragueBudapestMilanViennaIstanbulDublinBrusselsAthensMunichCopenhagenMoscowStockholmHamburgLyonBratislavaSofiaBucharestKievEdinburghWarsawSt. PetersburgHelsinkiBelgradeOsloGeneva

67.367.167.165.562.962.361.661.359.759.659.359.158.457.656.856.255.554.153.953.453.453.352.352.252.251.451.450.949.148.243.643.141.0

Notes: The Global Shopper City Index measures the attractiveness of 33 major European cities’ shops by international travellers. It is composed of 22 indicators classified in five categories: shops, affordability, convenience, hotels and transport, and culture and climate. 11 of these 22 indicators are based on quantitative data, 9 on qualitative ratings and 2 are based on data quantitative data and qualitative assessments. The index has a range between 0 and 100, where 100 would be the best city for shopping. Indicators and categories were all weighted equally.More detail: www.globeshopperindex.eiu.comSource: The Economist Intelligence Unit

Note: The overall indicator is not determined as an average of the rankings represented in the graph, but rather as an average of indicators obtained for each category. This is, therefore, a numerical value, and as such you can calculate the ranking of cities, with Barcelona is in second place as the best city for shopping. Source: The Economist Intelligence Unit

Ranking City Global Index

1

2

3

4

5

6

7

8

9

10

Positioning of Barcelona

Shops Affordability Convenience Hotels and transport Culture and climate

6

9

8

3

4

Observatory of Barcelona 2013 Report. City for business

29

Main world cities organizing international meetings in 2011

Source: International Congress and Convention Association

Positioning of Barcelona

20112010200920082007200620052004

2 2 2 22

8

5

3

ViennaParisBarcelonaBerlinSingaporeMadridLondonAmsterdamIstanbulBeijingBudapestLisbonSeoulCopenhagenPragueBuenos AiresBrusselsStockholmRomeTaipeiKuala LumpurHong KongDublinShanghaiHelsinkiBangkokRio de JaneiroWarsawGenevaZurichMelbourneOsloSao PauloSydneyAthensMunichVancouverEdinburghMexicoWashingtonMontrealTokyoSantiago de ChileTallinnBogotaBostonLimaTorontoBelgradeKrakowHamburgLjubljanaValenciaCape TownOportoJeju

154147148138136114

97104109

9887

106919285988089729979826081675562285756494975

10269665866433657685828384337443331362057413231

17.518.41.46.54.4

14.018.6

9.63.7

13.324.1

0.98.86.5

15.3-4.116.3

4.527.8

-16.2-1.3-6.126.7

-11.16.0

27.311.3

132.110.512.526.524.5

-20.0-44.1-20.3-16.7

-5.2-21.218.641.7

-12.3-26.5-15.575.015.8

2.318.9

0.027.329.011.1

100.0-31.6

-7.318.819.4

181174150147142130115114113111108107

9998989493939283787776727170696563636261605755555552515150504949444444444240404039383837

International Meetings 2010

Variation 2010/2011(%)

International Meetings 2011

City

Source: International Congress and Convention Association

Barcelona, third top city in the international meetings world rankings

In 2011, Barcelona ranked third top city in the world in terms of hosting international meetings, according to an annual report by the International Congress and Convention Association (ICCA). In 2011, Barcelona held 150 meetings in the city, a figure only beaten by Vienna (181) and Paris (174). This figure means the number of international meetings organised in Barcelona was higher than results in 2009 and 2010. Although Barcelona dropped one position in the ranking compared to 2010, the city continues to be in the top three for the fourth consecutive year.

The medical sectors continued to be the main organisers of congresses in Barcelona in 2011 and 2102, according to Turisme de Barcelona and its Convention Bureau. Specifically, in 2012 a total of 72,962 medical-related congress delegates visited the city, taking part in 74 professional meetings. Behind the medical and healthcare sectors came sectors related to busi-ness-commerce, academia and universities, and science and technology. In 2012 congress delegates gave Barcelona an overall score of 4.5 out of 5.

_Knowledge society

31

Introduction

Barcelona City Council’s Strategic Framework 2012-2015 aims to make Bar-celona a city of culture, knowledge, creativity and science, creating a fa-vourable environment to attract and retain talent. It is a renewed commit-ment to transforming the city’s model of production, which has been able to build up a critical mass of talent and a remarkable level of internatio-nal research, and these have become key elements in bringing about any economic recovery. One of the highlights of this strategy is the Mobile World Capital project running from 2012 to 2018, which, in addition to its impact on business tourism, strengthens the technological profile of the city and its ability to attract businesses, professionals and innovation in leading sectors.

In terms of the knowledge economy, it’s worth highlighting the critical mass that Catalonia’s labour market has achieved in high added value sectors: Catalonia is fifth in Europe in terms of the number of people employed in high and medium-high intensive technology, sixth in terms of workers in science and technology, and ninth in terms of workers in knowledge-intensive sectors in 2011.

Thanks to its strategy of promoting research, Barcelona has been able to make great strides, becoming fourth and tenth best in Europe and the world respectively in terms of scientific production in 2012, according to an annual report prepared by the Polytechnic University of Catalonia (UPC). As well, of the 300 Advanced Grants awarded by the European Re-search Council in 2012, nine went to researchers working in Catalonia, representing 60% of the grants awarded to Spain, which again shows the quality of research in here. At the European level, Catalonia is behind the UK, France, Germany, Netherlands, Switzerland, Israel and Italy, and shares eighth place with Denmark. In terms of universities, three public universities in the area around Barcelona (Pompeu Fabra University, Au-tonomous University of Barcelona, University of Barcelona) are among the best 225 universities in the world, according to the Times Higher Edu-cation Ranking 2013.

In terms of innovation, 2010’s results again show an increase in the num-ber of PCT patents and technology (up by 2.4 and 5.4%, respectively) in the case of Barcelona. As well, in 2011 Catalonia was again Spain’s top region in terms of the number of companies carrying out innovative ac-tivities in Spain, with 4,543 firms, representing over a fifth (22.2%) of the total in the country, generating an expenditure on business innovation of 3,407.5 million euro, or 23.1% of all Spanish spending, which is the hig-hest rate in the last six years. By contrast, spending on R&D relative to GDP in Catalonia, which had shown a clear upward trend from 2001 to 2009, fell in both 2010 and 2011, reaching 1.55% in the last year mentio-ned, but still a higher figure than the Spanish average (1.33%), yet lower than the EU average (2%).

According to a comparative analysis on innovation across regions in Eu-rope called the Regional Innovation Scoreboard 2012, compiled by Euros-tat, Catalonia was classified an ‘innovation follower’ in 2011, along with the Spain’s Madrid Community, the Basque Country, Navarra and Aragon and regions such as Lombardy and London. In this same group Catalonia is positioned as a ‘follower medium’ within this large group, following re-gions classified as ‘innovation leader’. According to this report, Catalonia did especially well in terms of employment in technology manufacturing and services, the number of people with university education, businesses’ spending on R&D and sales of new products to consumer market or to companies. In Catalonia there is a balance between the various elements that go to make up innovation, like facilitating factors, business activities and outputs, and overall Eurostat placed Catalonia amongst those regi-ons with the highest regional competitiveness index in 2010.

It’s worth highlighting that the international perception of Barcelona in terms of technology and innovation has improved. Barcelona occupied 13th and 19th positions in the innovative cities European and world ran-kings respectively in 2011, headed by Boston, San Francisco and Paris, ri-sing two and seven positions respectively, compared to 2010’s rankings. This index measures urban areas’ capacity to create products, processes, services and other innovations. In addition, the city is among the top ten technology cities in Europe, with the same score as Amsterdam, accor-ding to a ranking prepared by Buck Consultants International, also en-joying growing international recognition as a smart city.

32

Catalonia, fifth and ninth top European region in terms of population employed in technology manufacturing and services

According to Eurostat, in 2011 Catalonia was in fifth place among Euro-pean regions with the highest number of people employed in high and medium-high technology manufacturing, with a total of 207,000 workers in these sectors. In a year of changing trends in employment between different benchmark regions, Catalonia fell back one position, overtaken by Ile de France, with Lombardy, Stuttgart and Upper Bavaria leading the ranking. As well, Catalonia’s relative rates of employment in the high and medium-high technology manufacturing sector is 6.7%, which means it is located in the mid-to-high part of the group of 279 European regions.

Regarding employment in knowledge-intensive high-technology services, Catalonia was in ninth place in the ranking of European regions in 2011, and two places lower than 2010. With a total of 88,000 workers in the-se activities, Catalonia has less workers than regions like Milan, Munich and Oxford, but higher quantities than Berlin, Helsinki and Rhône-Alpes. Despite its reduction in 2011, the number of employees in these sectors is 12.3% higher than in 2008 -the best performance of any of the leading regions after Stockholm-, and their relative weight compared to total em-ployment remained the same (3%). It’s worth highlighting that in Barcelo-na, employees working in knowledge-intensive high technology services represented 5% of all employees in 2012.

Population employed in technology manufacturing and services sectors in European regions in 2011

Population employed in knowledge-intensive high-technology services and high and mid-to-high technology manufacturing (thousands of people, 2011)

Source: Eurostat

Lombardy(Milan)

Upper Bavaria(Munich)

Catalonia (Barcelona)

North Holland(Amsterdam))

Southeast Ireland(Dublin)

129123

88

5263

382

244

207

16

65

Employees in high and mid-to-high technology manufacturing

Employees in knowledge-intensive high-technology services

Observatory of Barcelona 2013 Report. Knowledge

33

Lombardy (Milan)Stuttgart (Stuttgart)

Upper Bavaria (Munich)Ile de France (Paris)

Catalonia (Barcelona)Istanbul (Istanbul)

Dusseldorf (Düsseldorf)Darmstadt (Frankfurt)Rhône-Alpes (LYON)

Community of Madrid (Madrid)South Holland (Rotterdam)

Oslo (OSLO)Basque Country (Bilbao)

Provence-Alpes-Cote d’Azur (Marseille)Southern Finland (Helsinki)Central Hungary (Budapest)Southeast Ireland (Dublin)

Valencian Community (VALENCIA)Berlin (Berlin)Lazio (Rome)

Ankara (ANKARA)West Midlands (Birmingham)

London (London)Hovenstaden (COPENHAGEN)

Lisbon (Lisboa)Greater Manchester (Manchester)

Attica (Athens)Bucharest (Bucharest)

Southwest Scotland (Glasgow)Vienna (Vienna)

Eastern Scotland (EDINBURGH)Zagreb (Zagreb)Prague (Praga)

North Holland (Amsterdam)Languedoc-Roussillon (Montpellier)

Brussels (Brussels)

382374244211207200187166166

978179767168686565646455474640353534312828252417161310

12966

1233448873726073

189484234497155634074

1242526

23254414248552242192352522122

9.0018.8010.80

4.106.704.707.908.706.303.404.501.408.203.605.205.504.803.503.902.803.504.201.204.602.902.902.202.902.903.502.903.802.601.201.302.30

3.003.305.406.602.901.703.003.102.806.702.706.703.702.505.404.404.702.104.605.501.602.306.106.303.303.503.105.202.305.302.203.708.103.802.205.40

% Employees in high and mid-to-hightechnology manufacturing over the total employed population

Employeesin knowledge

intensivehigh-technology

services (in 1000s)

Employees in high and mid-to-high technology manufacturing

(in 1000s)

% Employees in knowledge-intensivehigh-technology services over the total

population employed Region (City)

Note: Knowledge-intensive high-technology services include IT, telecommunications, and research and development. Source: Eurostat

34

Catalonia, sixth-top European region for employment in science and technology

Catalonia had 592,000 workers with higher education degrees working in science and technology in 2011, ranking sixth amongst European regions, second only to Ile de France, London, the Community of Madrid, Warsaw and Rhône-Alps, which moves above Catalonia compared to the previous year, but ahead of regions like Lombardy, Upper Bavaria or Amsterdam.

After a rapid expansion of these activities during the period 1998-2008, em-ployment fell for the third consecutive year in 2011 in the field of science and technology in Catalonia, which has accumulated a fall of 9% since 2008. However, Catalonia remains one of Europe’s regions that has the largest numbers of people working in this area, while the weighting of workers en-gaged in science and technology in relation to total employment in Catalonia stands at around 11%, up by 2 per cent since 2000.

In 2009, the level of research and development (R&D) in Catalonia stood at 1.7% of GDP, a higher rate than regions like Lombardy or London, but far be-hind leading areas like Hovedstaden, Stockholm and Stuttgart. This indicator followed a clear upward trend from 2001 to 2009 in Catalonia, but since then it has dropped off slightly to stand at 1.55% of GDP in 2011, a higher rate than the Spanish average (1.33 %), but lower than in the EU (2%). That same year Catalonia generated about a quarter of all Spanish firms’ expenditure on R&D (23.5%), and accounted for 22.2% of all innovative companies in Spain.

People employed in scienceand technology (2011), and spending on research and developmentin European regions in 2009

* Population between 15 and 74 years old

People employed in science and technology (% of population *)

2008 2010200620032000 2001 2002 2004 2005 2007 2009

Catalonia (Barcelona)North Holland (Amsterdam)Lombardy (Milan)

4,7 5,1 5,6 5,66,5 6,5 6,7 7,1 7,6 7,6 7,8

8.89.5 9.2 9.1

11.1 11.4 11.810.8

11.7 11.310.9

13,414,0 14,2

16,2

18,7

17,516,9

18,218,9

19,819,320

16

12

8

4

Source: Eurostat

2011

18,6

10.8

7,7

Observatory of Barcelona 2013 Report. Knowledge

35

Ile de France (Paris)London (London)

Madrid (Community) (Madrid)Mazowsze (Warsaw)Rhône-Alpes (Lyon)

Catalonia (Barcelona)Upper Bavaria (Munich)

Lombardy (Milan)Dusseldorf (Düsseldorf)

Andalusia (Seville)Berlin (Berlin)

Stuttgart (Stuttgart)Cologne (Koln)

Provence-Alps-Cote d’Azur (Marseille)Darmstadt (Frankfurt)

South Holland (The Hague)Attica (Athens)

Silesia (Kattowice)Berkshire County Buckingham County of Oxford (Oxford)

Southern Finland (Helsinki)Valencia (Valencia)

North Holland (Amsterdam)Lithuania (Vilnius)

Lazio (Rome)Stockholm (Stockholm)South and East (Dublin)

Midi-Pyrenees (Toulouse)Nord - Pas de Calais (Lille)

Central Hungary (Budapest)Surrey, East Sussex and West Sussex (Brighton)

Karlsruhe (Karlsruhe)Bucharest - Ilfov (Bucharest)

Arnsberg (Arnsberg)County of Gloucester, Wiltshire and North Somerset

Hovenstaden (Copenhagen)Loire (Nantes)

Brittany (Rennes)Basque Country (Bilbao)

Malopolska (Krakow)Aquitaine (Bordeaux)

Emilia-Romagna (Bologna)Schleswig-Holstein (KIEL)

Lisbon (Lisbon)Thuringia (Erfurt)

Greater ManchesterNorth Brabant (Hertogenbosch)

Freiburg (Freiburg)Hamburg (Hamburg)

Veneto (Venice)West Sweden

1.960.321.130.331.820.993.580.851.540.35

1.55.931.351.082.950.74

:0.282.152.640.450.63

0.20.652.811.153.18

0.40.9

1.232.480.340.921.973.780.831.161.630.23

1.00.870.571.32

1.00.381.931.711.280.693.36

3.011,042,061,192.781.704.631.271.941.103.676.443.172.053.581.92

:0.553.513.831.111.750.841.803.881.774.380.811.531.614.091.091.533.015.271.231.872.120.931.541.371.262.452.061.242.392.692.301.074.32

Employees in science and technology (percentage*) 2011

Employees in science and

technology (in thousands) 2011

Internal R&D expenditure in the Business sector (%

GDP) in 2009

Total InternalR&D Expenditure (% GDP) in 2009 Region (City)

1,4141,308

866668627592586582556548511481475440426414407397384381377375367363356352348336335333329311308308300296288276269265265263261256256255250250241237

*Population aged 15 to 74 yearsNote: Employees who have a higher level of scientific training and are employed as professionals or technicians. Domestic expenditure includes expenditure on capital, expenses and labour flows, in latter in terms of researchers and administrative staff- and related research activities in proportion to GDP.Source: Eurostat

16.421.717-816.1

1410.817.8

7.713.9

8.718.215.814.612.314.515.713.410.520.618.6

9.818.614.6

8.422.814.616.711.714.617.816.517.310.717.423.211.712.717.011.111.4

8.012.212.115.113.113.914.217.7

6.416.*

36

Top cities in the world for scientific production in 2012

Barcelona is in the world’s top ten cities Barcelona accounts for 14,777 scientific publications and as such is the fourth top city in Europe and tenth in the world in this aspect, its best position since data was first collected in 2005, according to the Scientific Production Trends in the World’s Major Cities in 2012 Report, produced by the Centre of Land Policy and Valuations at the UPC. The increase in publications in 2011 (6.1%) took Barcelona up one position in European ranking and three places in the world ranking. According to this result, Barcelona overtakes Moscow, Los Angeles and Baltimore compared to 2011, well above the scientific out-put of Berlin, Munich, Milan and San Francisco.

Of the 300 Advanced Grants awarded to researchers working in Spain by the European Research Council in 2012, 60% went to Catalan teams, again sho-wing the quality of research in Catalonia. At the European level, Catalonia is behind the UK, France, Germany, the Netherlands, Switzerland, Israel and Italy, but shares eighth place with Denmark.

Positioning of Barcelona

2005 2006 2007 2008 2009

119

74

2010 2011 2012

67 6 5

27

21 21 20

1517

1310

World RankingEuropean Ranking

Source: Polytechnic University of Catalonia- Centre of Land Policy and Valuations.

BeijingLondonTokyoSeoulBostonParisNew YorkShanghaiMadridBarcelonaMoscowBaltimoreLos AngelesSao PauloTorontoCambridge, MaPhiladelphiaChicagoHoustonRomeBerlinMilanSingaporeMelbourneMunichMontrealCambridgeHong KongAmsterdamOsakaOxfordSan FranciscoZurichPittsburghStockholmCopenhagenLyon

123456789

10111213141516171819202122232425262728293031323334353637

01000200345000000006780090

100

110

120

130

141516

46,88534,66428,69328,15726,94526,66926,23823,62116,39114,77714,77614,70114,59414,45914,31914,22114,13913,83713,72613,47112,89112,01811,52911,50311,20711,15611,10911,02210,715

10,.43210,08810,006

9,7839,6609,3418,4687,077

123456789

13101211161415171819202122292723252428302631323433353638

Source: Polytechnic University of Catalonia - Centre of Land Policy and Valuations, Report on the evolution of scientific production in 2012 in the world’s major cities.

PragueAthensWarsawManchesterEdinburghHamburgDublinBrusselsBuenos AiresMexico Citynew DelhiRio de JaneiroToulouseNaplesValenciaMarseilleGlasgowTurinMontpellierLisbonYokohamaSaint PetersburgBaselTel Aviv

383940414243444546474849505152535455565758596061

1718192021222324

0000

2526272829303132

03334

0

7,0196,7736,6966,5396,0515,9285,8805,8495,8005,7735,5705,4985,4045,3915,3255,1475,0654,9134,8854,7634,6204,5644,3704,068

373941404348424644475045495251575354565860555962

City

European Ranking

2012

World Ranking

2012

World Ranking

2011

Scientifc publications

2012

Observatory of Barcelona 2013 Report. Knowledge

37

Barcelona recorded an increase in the numberof applications for PCT Patents

In 2010, Barcelona recorded 412 international PCT patent applications, according to the residence of the inventor, 2.4% more than the previous year and higher than other European areas like Madrid, London and Brussels. Compared with the main European provinces analyzed this re-sult was very good, as on average there was a 2.5% drop in PCT patent applications. In Barcelona, the number of PCT patents per million inhabi-tants increased by two applications (from 75 in 2009 to 77 in 2010).

Regarding technology patent applications, 78 companies in Barcelona re-gistered patents, 5.4% more than in 2009. Barcelona continued to occupy an intermediate position amongst the benchmark technology provinces, above, for example, Milan, Amsterdam, Rome, Dublin, Vienna, Oslo and Copenhagen.

It’s worth noting that after a decline experienced in 2009, Barcelona has returned to the high growth levels recorded from 1990 to 2008, when it experienced a very significant step forward in this field, tripling its total number of PCT patents and quintupling its number of technology patents in just a decade.

The most recent data from the Spanish Patent and Trademark Office (OEPM) shows a decrease of around 5% in the number of Spanish patent applications in 2012, both in the province of Barcelona and in Spain as a whole.

Patent applications in the main regional areas of the OECD in 2010

2007 2008 2009

600

500

400

300

200

100

0

*Cooperation Treaty on Patents

PCT patents (number of applications)

200620032000 2001 2002 2004 2005

Barcelona MilanAmsterdam Dublín

187212 238

272

378 377

414 403

Source: OECD

2010

419418412

38

Province (City)

363.7333.4

52.2126.0

99.2133.8

37.561.4

127.239.2

195.3185.8198.9

30.0240.2

54.286.254.618.727.614.526.032.7

141.626.8

1.858.143.717.147.326.061.226.073.124.913.710.122,040.452.214.6

2.511.5

7.86.0

15.33.5

752.4543.4143.3362.0308.7267.2107.6252.6603.2147.3499.8269.5489.6248.5502.7251.7306.1158.9112.5124.877.163.7

227.9309.7104.2

21.4133.3

92.653.3

100.7112.9354.9

98.5218.5106.9

67.341.789.272.0

140.854.714.445.523.025.542.811.9

4,7873,2731,2101,046

8801,343

746426340408519881402

88341149193188

749778

16556

1807124

113119

71934431354327242523492517101213

797

PCT technology patent applications

Total PCT patent applications per million inhabitants

PCT technology patent applications per million inhabitants

Tokyo (Tokyo)Silicon Valley (San Jose)New York (New York)Boston (Boston)Osaka (Osaka)Seoul (Seoul)Los Angeles (Los Angeles)Houston (Houston)Stuttgart (Stuttgart)Chicago (Chicago)Munich (Munich)Seattle (Seattle)Stockholm (Stockholm)Dusseldorf (Düsseldorf)Uusimaa (Helsinki)DE51: Rhein-MainParis (Paris)Berlin (Berlin)Milan (Milan)Rotterdam (Rotterdam)Barcelona (Barcelona)Madrid (Madrid)Rhone (Lyon)London (London)Amsterdam (Amsterdam)Istanbul (Istanbul)Montreal (Montreal)Toronto (Toronto)Rome (Roma)Bouches du Rhone (Marseille)Vienna (Vienna)Copenhagen (Copenhagen)Manchester (Manchester)Oslo (Oslo)Brussels (Brussels)Budapest (Budapest)Valencia (Valencia)Hérault (Montpellier)Dublin (Dublin)Edinburgh (Edinburgh)Vizcaya (Bilbao)Attica (Athens)Birmingham (Birmingham)Warsaw (Warsaw)Prague (Praga)Glasgow (Glasgow)Lisbon (Lisboa)

9,9015,3353,3223,0052,7362,6822,1391,7531,6131,5351,3271,277

989732715691687547446438412404393389278276260252222199192182135128116116105

93876862594740322524

Total PCT patent applications

Note: Geographic criterion in terms of patent location is taken as the home of the inventor.The database contains 1,742 individual provinces, but the table shows only a selected sample of benchmark provinces.Source: OECD

Observatory of Barcelona 2013 Report. Knowledge

39

40_Tourism

41

Introduction

Tourism was one of the positive contributing sectors to Barcelona’s eco-nomic activity in 2012, as it has been since 2009, and this plays a key role in the structure of the city’s economy. Thus, according data from the city tourist board, Turisme de Barcelona, in 2012 the city had a record high of 7.44 million tourists and 15.93 million overnights, representing a slight increase (0.7 and 2.6%, respectively) on 2011, and doubling re-sults achieved a decade ago. Given a context of generally weak domestic demand, Barcelona’s tourism sector’s strong performance is due to fo-reign tourism. Indeed, according to a 2011 report by Euromonitor Inter-national, Barcelona is the 20th most-visited city by international tourists from a group of top 100 cities worldwide, ahead of Taipei, Beijing and Los Angeles, and 5th most-visited amongst selected European cities, ahead of Budapest, Moscow and Amsterdam. The three aspects most valued by tourists that come to Barcelona are its architecture, culture and infras-tructure, according to a survey by Instituto DYM for Turisme de Barcelona.

Regarding access infrastructure into the city, it’s worth highlighting the strong performance of passenger traffic at Barcelona Airport, which in 2012 surpassed 35 million for the first time, which showed the strongest rate of growth in the European Union, with increases of 2.2% and 1.8%, respectively. In addition, Barcelona is the only major Spanish airport, along with Bilbao, to record passenger growth. This means the city’s air-port retained ninth place in the ranking of Europe’s leading airports in terms of passengers, above London’s Gatwick, Moscow’s Domodedovo or Orly in Paris. It’s worth noting the introduction of new domestic and international routes from Barcelona Airport at the beginning of 2013. Domestic flights now include Pamplona, Valladolid, Fuerteventura, while internationally there are new flights to Gothenburg, London-Gatwick, Bo-logna, Frankfurt, Catania and Banjul. On the other hand, intercontinental traffic (+3.4%) has grown more significantly than total passenger traffic.

`

At the same time, Barcelona was Europe’s and Mediterranean’s top port for cruises in 2011 for the 11th consecutive year and it is the fourth most important turnaround port in the world, above Venice, Southampton and New York, and only behind Florida’s (US) three major ports (Miami, Ever-glades and Canaveral). Results for 2011 and 2012, with 2.6 and 2.4 milli-on cruise passengers, respectively, are the highest recorded in terms of tourism demand.

Barcelona City Council’s Strategic Framework 2012-2015 refers to develo-ping tourism further. There are a number of action lines being conside-red, including new commitments to sustainable tourism, with renewed Biosphere responsible tourism certification and the implementation of strategic plans at district level within Barcelona in order to create new magnets for tourism and decentralize urban tourism across the city.

42

Barcelona maintains ninth position among the leading airports in Europe

Passenger traffic at Barcelona Airport reached 35.1 million in 2012, reaching its highest level and showing an annual growth of 2.2%, which is higher than the average increases recorded at the rest of airports in Europe (up by 1.8%), according to ACI Europe’s Airport Traffic Report. Notably, airports in the Eu-ropean Union as a whole have seen stagnated demand in terms of passenger traffic since October 2012, while continental European airports outside the EU area have grown fast (8.8% annually in 2012), led by Turkey, Russia, Georgia, Moldova and Iceland. Barcelona Airport was the only major Spanish airport, along with Bilbao, to record passenger growth in 2012, although the increase is lower than that recorded the previous three years (6.9% in 2010, and 17.8% in 2011). As a result of this trend, Barcelona Airport retains its ninth place in the ranking of major European airports by passenger volumes, standing in a higher position than Gatwick Airport in London, Domodedovo in Moscow, and Orly in Paris. In 2012, passenger growth at Barcelona Airport was strongest to European Union countries, with increases of 9.2% for the year, followed clo-sely by the segment made up of non-EU international countries (up by 8.9%). By contrast, domestic traffic fell nearly 10% in the year.

Main European airports by passenger volume in 2012

Variation2012/2011 (%)

Passengers2012Cty (Airport)

70,038,80461,611,93457,520,00151,035,59045,175,50144,992,42038,360,60436,980,161

35,131,77134,222,40528,165,65727,232,26326,188,54725,355,06024,751,64923,289,85022,665,27722,165,65022,080,43320,833,24619,841,74719,659,76519,096,57218,943,68818,522,76018,292,67617,463,79415,301,23614,850,08114,835,21413,804,77012,927,28312,563,11911,190,28410,807,890

9,882,0639,720,8779,630,1289,587,8489,395,5219,297,7999,280,0709,176,9978,923,7778,888,0178,844,0998,513,1008,493,5698,478,0918,451,0398,175,4897,559,3517,160,299

London Heathrow (LHR)Paris Roissy (CDG)Frankfurt (FRA)Amsterdam (AMS)Madrid (MAD)Istanbul (IST)Munich (MUC)Rome - Fiumicino (FCO)Barcelona (BCN)London Gatwick (LGW)Moscow Domodedovo (DME)Paris Orly (ORY)Moscow (SVO)Antalya (AYT)Zurich (ZHR)Copenhagen (CPH)Palma de Mallorca (PMI)Vienna (VIE)Oslo (OSL)Dusseldorf (DUS)Manchester (MAN)Stockholm - Arlanda (ARN)Dublin (DUB)Brussels (BRU)Milan - Malpensa (MXP)Berlin (TXL)London Stansted (STN)Lisbon (LIS)Helsinki (HEL)Istanbul (SAW)Geneva (GVA)Athens (ATH)Malaga (AGP)Nice (NCE)Prague (PRG)Gran Canaria (LPA)Stuttgart (STR)London (LTN)Warsaw (WAW)Izmir (ADB)Ankara (ESB)Cologne / Bonn (CGN)Milan Linate (LIN)Birmingham (BHX)Milan - Orio al Serio (BGY)Alicante (ALC)Tenerife South (TFS)Budapest (BUD)Kiev (KBP)Lyon (LYS)Venice (VCE)Toulouse (TLS)Glasgow (GLA)

0.9%1.1%1.9%2.6%

-9.0%20.2%

1.6%-1.8%2.2%1.6%9.6%0.3%

16.1%0.9%1.9%2.7%

-0.3%5.0%4.7%2.4%4.5%3.0%1.9%1.0%

-4.0%8.1%

-3.2%3.5%0.0%8.4%5.9%

-10.4%-1.9%7.4%

-8.3%-6.1%1.4%1.1%2.7%9.6%8.7%

-3.6%1.2%3.5%5.6%

-10.7%-1.1%-4.7%5.4%0.2%

-4.5%7.9%4.0%Source: Airport Council International, ACI Europe Airport

Traffic ReportsBarcelona Committee for the Development of Air Routes

*In 2010, Barcelona Airport dropped one position with the entrance of Istanbul Airport in the ICA ranking. Had it not been for this, it would have stayed in ninth.

Passengers (millions)

Barcelona’s position in the ranking

2011201020092008200720062005

Barcelona (BCN) Munich (MUC)Amsterdam (AMS) Milan (MXP)

50

40

30

20

10

9 10

9999

9

2012

9

Source: Airports Council International. Airport Traffic Report, 2012.Barcelona Committee for the Development of Air Routes (CDRA)

Observatory of Barcelona 2013 Report. Tourism

43

Barcelona, among the top 20 international tourist destinations

The number of international tourists choosing destination Barcelona rose to 5.4 million in 2011, according to Euromonitor International’s Top Des-tination Cities Ranking 2011. This figure shows a year-on increase of 4%, which puts Barcelona in 20th place. In the world ranking of the top 100 urban tourism destinations, Barcelona is above Taipei, Beijing and Los Angeles. Barcelona dropped four positions from its 16th spot in the world ranking in 2010, but Barcelona retains 5th position in the European ran-kings, ahead of Budapest, Amsterdam and Moscow, despite growth in the number of international tourists visiting these cities being higher (8.5%, 12.8% and 11.5%, respectively).

Moreover, Barcelona is the fourth top European city in terms of overnig-ht stays by international tourists, according to European Cities Marketing Benchmarking Report 2012, only behind London, Paris, Rome, yet above Prague in fifth place.

International tourism in cities across the world in 2011

Nota: Here we refer to international tourist arrivals visiting the city for at least 24 hoursin 12 months, staying in a private or group place of residence. Excluding day trip passengers (one day stays) and domestic tourists. It presents the ranking of the top 50 cities from a total of 100. Source: Euromonitor International

International tourists 2011 (thousands)City

Hong KongSingaporeLondonKuala LumpurMacauBangkokAntalyaShenzhenNew YorkIstanbulGuangzhouParisDubaiShanghaiMiamiMeccaPattayaRomeLas VegasBarcelonaTaipeiBeijingLos AngelesPhuketBudapestAmsterdamMoscowOrlandoPragueBerlinViennaMuglaHo Chi Minh CityMadridKievWarsawDublinCairoEdirneZhuhaiChennaiHangzhouBuenos AiresSan FranciscoSt. PetersburgSeoulMexico CityTokyoTorontoDelhi

21,83019,81815,10613,31512,92512,35712,05210,89510,038

9,7658,8768,4047,7416,9126,4626,4126,0035,9665,3875,3665,2575,1534,9184,8944,3774,2024,1703,8253,7603,7113,6903,5923,5333,4313,3723,3513,2503,2493,1813,1803,1753,1492,9682,9242,9002,8572,8472,7482,7372,703

Variation 2011/2010 (%)

8.88.72.7

16.08.4

12.513.3

6.83.5

20.28.93.5

-0.1-5.87.14.7

10.54.54.24.0

51.35.18.19.58.5

12.811.5

4.10.07.54.8

11.945.1

0.86.6

35.0-6.7

-35.09.3

-2.214.014.2

9.22.9

16.01.73.7

-28.00.3

15.0

Note: From 2008 there was a break in the series because the number of cities analyzed was reduced from150 to 100.Source: Euromonitor International. Top Destination Cities ranking.

International tourists (in thousands)

20082006 2009 20102007

Barcelona RomeParis Amsterdam

Barcelona’s position in the world rankings

10.000

9.000

8.000

7.000

6.000

5.000

4.000

3.000

1011 18

16

16

2011

20

44

The Port of Barcelona, first in Europe and fourth in the world

In 2011, the number of cruise passengers passing through the port of Barcelona continued to grow to over 2.6 million, almost 13% more than in 2010, making Barcelona the top port in Europe and the Mediterranean for cruises for the 11th year in a row, and the fourth top port in the world, above Venice, Southampton and New York, and just behind Florida’s (US) three main ports.

As well, in 2012 the Port of Barcelona was once again recognized by the industry as the best cruise port, being awarded garlands in six categories at ‘Cruise Shipping 2012’, the main industry trade fair held in Miami. The six categories were: ‘Best Destination Experience’, ‘Best Destination Tur-naround’, ‘Advanced Port Facilities,’ ‘Most Efficient Port Services,’ ‘Most Responsive Port to Operator Requests’ and ‘Best Operations Turnaround’. As such, once again the port of Barcelona got most awards from the pres-tigious industry magazine Insight (Dream Cruise Port Destinations).

In 2012, the number of passengers passing through the port of Barcelo-na was above 2.4 million. Although this result represented a decrease of 9.4% on the previous year, it comes after seven years of sustained growth in this tourism segment and it is the second highest value ever recorded since data started being collected.

Cruises at Europe’s main ports in 2011

Source Cruise Insight. Fall 2012

Cruise passengers (millions)

Barcelona Venice

201020092008200720062005 2011

Variation 2011/2010 (%)City Port

Passengers 2010 (thousands)

Passengers 2011 (thousands)

Source: Cruise Insight, Fall 2012 * Excluding casino boats

MiamiPort EvergladesPort Canaveral* BarcelonaVeniceSouthamptonNew YorkSantosSavonaSingaporeGalvestonTampaSeattleCopenhagenLong BeachGenevaNew OrleansVancouverLos AngelesBaltimoreTOTAL

4,3323,3142,7232,3481,6171,2001,134

792781

1,002850803932662825860530574755416

26,450

-5.410.614.912.510.5

7.511.625.421.4-6.08.7

11.8-4.923.9-1.1-7.139.115.5

-19.521.27.4

4,1003,6643,1302.6421,7861,2901,266

993948942924898886820816799737663608504

28,416

Barcelona’s position in the ranking

Observatory of Barcelona 2013 Report. Tourism

45

46_Sustainability and quality of life

47

Introduction

Barcelona City Council’s main strategic aims for the period 2012-2015 include creating a healthy city that fully integrates environmental, urban planning, infrastructure and ICTs in order to move towards a model ba-sed on self-sufficient energy consumption, with human scale productive neighbourhoods in a hyper-connected, zero emissions city. This vision needs a responsible environmental policy to ensure air quality and the sustainability of water and materials cycles and energy efficiency.

Given this context, Barcelona wants to lead a transformation to smarter cities by way of a sustainable City Protocol, a sort of worldwide standard to measure degrees of sustainability and the capacity of urban areas to produce quality of life. The protocol is a partnership between universiti-es, cities and firms to define the parameters of city change in terms of environmental, cultural, social and economic values, guided by efficiency in resource consumption and design excellence. As well, Barcelona City Council has signed an agreement with the United Nations agency for Hu-man Settlements (UN-Habitat) to make Barcelona the international he-adquarters for the UN’s Program Profiles for Resilient Cities worldwide, with resilience being the ability of cities to reduce and face risks associa-ted with infrastructure and urban services via prevention.

Barcelona has a privileged starting point from which to meet these cha-llenges, given its international position as the best European city in qua-lity of life for workers for the fourteenth consecutive year, according to Cushman & Wakefield. This value is also implicitly recognized in the Hot Spots: Benchmarking Global City Competitiveness report by The Economist Intelligence Unit, which places Barcelona in the top 10 cities in the world with regard to its social and cultural attractiveness. In addition, the State of the World’s Cities 2012-2013 report prepared by the UN’s Habitat agen-cy places Barcelona fifth in the category ‘quality of life’ from 69 cities worldwide.

Moreover, the local public likes living in Barcelona, according to the City Quality Survey published in 2012 by Barcelona City Council. According to this survey, Barcelonans rated their satisfaction with living in the city as 7.8 out of 10 and they scored their quality of life as 7 out of 10. The most valued aspects of the city were its commerce and shops (7.8), type of city (7.7), cultural and recreational opportunities (7.4), and livability (7.3).

In terms of environmental aspects, Barcelona has a compact and Me-diterranean city model which favours sustainable mobility (representing 81% of internal movements) and that highlights the moderate commu-ting times taken to get to work in the metropolitan area, the second-lowest times in the urban areas analysed in the 2012 Scorecard on Pros-perity by the Toronto Board of Trade. As well, Barcelona holds sixth place in the ranking of best European cities in terms of internal transport, ac-cording to the European Cities Monitor. Meanwhile, the city continues to move forward with the implementation of electric mobility and in 2013 it is the world capital of electric vehicles as it is hosting the next edition of the Electric Vehicle Symposium (EVS), the world benchmark congress in this sector, which will certainly help to strengthen Barcelona’s position in this area.

Regarding companies’ environmental commitments, the province of Bar-celona holds a leading position in the European ranking of EMAS environ-mental certification with a total of 171 registrations in September 2012. The city has become a benchmark, along with countries like Denmark, Norway and Finland, despite falls in 2012 as a result of business difficul-ties due to the economic recession.

48

Companies in the area in and around Barcelona remained in the upper part of the ranking

In September 2012, Barcelona, its provincial district, and Catalonia re-gistered 59, 171 and 249 EMAS accreditations, respectively, which pla-ced them in the upper tiers of the European country ranking and above benchmark environmental countries like Norway and Finland. As well, it’s worth highlighting Spain’s second position (only behind Germany) with 1,258 accreditations, with about a fifth of these (19.8%) located in Catalonia and 13.6% in the Barcelona area. As regards results between January and December 2012, the number of certificates registered in the city, Catalonia and the province decreased by 8.2%, 6.1% and 2.1%, res-pectively.

Moreover, according to the ISO Survey 2011, Spanish companies were awarded a total of 16,341 ISO 14001 accreditations, which places Spain fourth in the world, only behind China, Japan and Italy, even though it saw numbers fall 10.9% on 2010’s results.

Environmental commitment of European companies in 2012

Sorce:European Commission, Eco-Management and Audit Scheme (EMAS)Department of Planning and Sustainability, Government of Catalonia* Data from September 2012.

EMAS Certifications

2009200820062005 2007 2011 2010

Prov. Barcelona

350

300

250

200

150

100

50

United KingdomAustria

EMAS CertificationCountry

Source: European Commission, Eco-Management and Audit Scheme (EMAS)Department of Planning and Sustainability, Government of CataloniaData from September 2012.

123

162 168148

237

194171

GermanySpainItalyAustriaCataloniaProvince of BarcelonaDenmarkPortugalBarcelonaUKBelgiumGreecePolandFranceCzech RepublicNorwayHungaryLithuaniaFinlandLatviaCyprusSlovak RepublicIrelandNetherlandsRomaniaSloveniaEstoniaBulgariaLuxembourgMalta

1,3361,2581,134

260249171

716659594844322626212010

655544433321

2012*

194

Observatory of Barcelona 2013 Report. Sustainability and quality of life

49

Barcelona, best European city for quality of life for the last 14 years

In 2011, Barcelona was ranked best European city in quality of life for workers in the European Cities Monitor by Cushman & Wakefield. It was the fourteenth year running that the survey of European executive opini-ons placed Barcelona top. Below came Stockholm, Zurich and Geneva, which scaled positions compared to 2010, while Munich and Paris were down from the second to sixth and from fourth and eighth place, respec-tively.

Barcelona’s privileged quality of life is a competitive advantage that con-tributes to the city’s positioning amongst the main European benchmark cities for doing business year after year, which is especially important as it is one of the essential factors affecting both business location decisions and the attraction and retention of talented and creative professionals.

Best European cities in terms of quality of life of workers in 2011

Ranking 2011Ranking 2010 City

Source: Cushman & Wakefield, European Cities Monitor 2011

BarcelonaStockholm ZurichGenevaMadridMunichCopenhaguenViennaParisLondonOsloEdinburghAmsterdamBrusselsHamburgBerlinLisbonLeedsRomeLyonDublinMilanManchesterDusseldorfHelsinkiFrankfurtPragueBirminghamGlasgowBratislavaIstanbulVarsoviaBudapestMoscowBucarestAthens

1359627

114

1013

8171611131924191519252322182628263129343532363330

123456788

101111131415161718181821222224242627282929313233343535

Source: Cushman & Wakefield, European Cities Monitor

Best European cities for quality of life (positioning)

20112010200720042001 2002 2003 2005 2006 20092008

Barcelona Munich Amsterdam

1 1 1 1 1 1 1 1 1 1 12 2

3 3 34 4

5 56 6

8 8 8

1011

1213

17

13

15

17

50

Barcelona amongst the top cities in the world for quality of life

Barcelona is positioned fifth out of 69 cities worldwide in a ranking me-asuring quality of life, according to the report State of the World’s Cities 2012-2013 prepared by UN-Habitat. Barcelona comes behind Tokyo, Stoc-kholm, Paris and Oslo, but ahead of cities such as Seoul, London, Vienna and Amsterdam. According to the UN agency, the priority issues in achie-ving a better quality of life in cities, regardless of economic development, are security, efficient public services, quality public spaces, healthcare and adequate housing, which were the criteria used as the basis for the overall assessment.

Quality of life is one component that the UN-Habitat report takes into acco-unt in order to develop an index of overall prosperity for the cities analysed, but it also includes dimensions related to productivity, infrastructure, the environment and equality. The UN agency analysis found Barcelona in 17th position regarding overall prosperity, 14th in terms of infrastructure and in 20th, 22nd and 28th in the areas of productivity, the environment and equality, respectively.

Quality of life and urban prosperity in 2012

Index*Position CityTokyoStockholmParisOsloBarcelonaTorontoHelsinkiSeoulLondonMilanAucklandAthensViennaMelbourneAmsterdamCopenhagenDublinLisbonBudapestNew YorkBrusselsWarsawZurichYerevanChisinauShanghaiBeijingAlmatyMoscowSao Paulo

122456789

101112131415161717172021212324242626282930

0.9310.9250.9250.9140.9120.9070.9050.9030.8980.8950.8890.8850.8820.8750.8720.8710.8670.8670.8670.8660.8640.8640.8580.8500.8500.8360.8360.8220.8130.803

Source: State of World’s Cities , 2012-2013. UN Habitat

Urban prosperity and its categories (positioning of Barcelona)

Prosperity

Barcelona

1720

5

14

22

28

Productivity Quality of life Infrastructure Environment Equity

Source: State of the World’s Cities 2012-2013. UN-Habitat.* The index takes values between 0 and 1

Observatory of Barcelona 2013 Report. Sustainability and quality of life

51

Barcelona retains its 6th spot in Europe’s best internal transport systems list

In 2011, Barcelona was again amongst the European Cities Monitor’s top ten European cities in terms of internal transport (an indicator measuring how easy it is to get around within a municipality). Barcelona took sixth position, which it has occupied for three consecutive years, along with Munich, be-hind London, Paris, Berlin, Stockholm and Madrid, but ahead of Manches-ter, Zurich and Amsterdam.

Moreover, according to Scorecard on Prosperity 2012, by the Toronto Board of Trade, Barcelona is the second best urban area out of 24 cities studied in Europe, Canada and the United States for commuting, meaning people take less time travelling to their workplace, with an average travel time of 48.4 minutes. These favourable results are related to the compact nature of Barcelona’s urban model and its recent urban public policies promoting sustainable mobility.

Best European cities in termsof internal transport in 2011

Ranking 2011Ranking 2010 City

Source: Cushman & Wakefield, European Cities Monitor 2011

LondonParisBerlinStockholmMadridBarcelonaMunichManchesterZurichLeedsFrankfurtGenevaAmsterdamCopenhagenLyonOsloHamburgBrusselsBirminghamBratislavaViennaDüsseldorfHelsinkiBudapestMilanDublinLisbonGlasgowWarsawPragueEdinburghMoscowAthensIstanbulRomeBucharest

1237464

109

151113

82423181812183016141630222424283324213336352932

123456689

101112121415151717192020222324242626282930303233343536

Source: Cushman & Wakefield, European Cities Monitor

Best European cities in terms of internal transport (positioning)

20112010200720042003 2005 2006 20092008

Barcelona Munich Amsterdam

3

4

5

4

5 56 6 6

4

3

4

5

4

7

4

6

7 7

12

10

4

98 8

12

5

52

Social and cultural character of global cities in 2012

Ranking 2012City

Source: Economist Intelligence Unit. Hot Spots, Benchmarking Global City Competitiveness 2012

ZurichSydneyNew YorkLos AngelesBarcelonaMadridLondonFrankfurtChicagoBerlinViennaTorontoParisMiamiDublinVancouverPragueMontrealMelbourneAmsterdam

1222555555

11111111111616161616

Source: Economist Intelligence Unit. Hot Spots, Benchmarking Global City Competitiveness 2012

Social and cultural character of world cities (score)

Singapore Sao PauloBostonAmsterdamDublin MilanBarcelona

90.0

87.5 86.7

80.0

77.5

74.2

92.5

Positioning of the city

95

90

85

80

75

70

65

60

47

4237

2116

115

Barcelona in the world’s top ten cities

According to the report Hot Spots: Benchmarking Global City Competitive-ness prepared by The Economist Intelligence Unit, Barcelona is among the top 10 cities in the world regarding social and cultural attractiveness. In fact, Barcelona is fifth along with Madrid, London, Frankfurt, Chicago and Berlin, but behind Zurich, Sydney, New York and Los Angeles.

This indicator measures the impact of a number of factors that affect the dynamic nature of a city such as freedom of expression and human rig-hts, openness and diversity, safety and vibrant cultural life: the presence of quality restaurants, world cuisines, theatrical productions, concerts, UNESCO heritage sites, and the presence of book fairs. Cultural vitality strengthens a place’s attractiveness for talent and interest, and it brings additional benefits like the development potential of creative industries, which generate more economic wealth.

Observatory of Barcelona 2013 Report. Sustainability and quality of life

53

_Prices and costs

55

Introduction

Given the context of a new fall in economic activity in 2012, inflation in the province of Barcelona and Catalonia fell to 2.9% (3.2% in 2011), slightly above the euro area average (2.5%). Though there was a overall mode-ration in inflation, note that in the second half of 2012 prices followed an upward trend driven by the introduction of a one euro prescription pay-ment, a rise of the price of university tuition, electricity, gas and water and an increase in VAT. On the other hand, the price of communications fell, helped thanks to strong competition in the sector, transport prices fell, due to cheaper oil prices as from the summer, and in general weak demand slowed down inflation.

The increase in VAT in Spain meant that Barcelona moved into line with the average sales tax rate of the EU in 2012, but with higher rates than Austria, United Kingdom, Slovakia, Czech Republic, Slovenia, France and Germany. On the other hand, corporation tax rate remains at 30% and, as such, this is higher than reference countries and the EU average (22.6%), according to Corporate Tax Rate Survey by KPMG, which makes Spain less competitive compared to European partners.

By contrast, the index of cost of living in cities around the world publis-hed by Mercer Human Resource Consulting shows Barcelona has gotten cheaper in this respect for the fourth consecutive year, and the city now ranks 85th in the world. This is 19 positions lower than its 2011 position. In fact, since the recession began, Barcelona has dropped 54 positions in the ranking of the most expensive cities in the world in terms of costs of life, a more marked change than other European cities like Paris and Milan. Regarding wage levels in Barcelona, the city is located in the mid-range in terms of gross salaries in Europe and the world, above cities like Rome, Seoul, Dubai, Lisbon and Tel Aviv.

As well, Barcelona continues to be price competitive in other aspects that favour new business setups, like office rentals and the price of industrial land, which is still adjusting downward. At the same time, Barcelona also showed a strong competitive position in terms of attracting retail activity in 2012, despite a general rise in rentals along more commercial shop-ping streets due to the fact that demand for these premises remained robust both from domestic brands that are expanding and from interna-tional selective and luxury brands that want to increase their presence in Barcelona.

56

Corporation Tax and VAT in countries around the world in 2012

The rise in VAT rate puts Spanish rates at the same level as the EU average

In Spain, the corporation tax rate stayed at 30% in 2012, which puts it again in the group of countries with the highest rates compared to benchmark countries and the European Union average (22.6%), according to a study by KPMG. This makes Spain’s competitive position vis-a-vis other countries unfavourable in terms of taxation for companies.

However, the increase in the VAT rate from 18% to 21%, applied by the Spa-nish Government from September 1st, 2012, put Spain in a group of coun-tries with higher rates in Europe, ahead of Austria, the UK, Slovakia, Czech Republic, Slovenia, France and Germany. As such, in 2012, the tax rate in Spain was in line with the EU country average (21.1%), according to the same study by KPMG.

30

33.3

25

29.5

21.2

25

28.8

34

20

24.528 26.3

25

19

19

19

15

18

25

31.4

2412.5

ESP

FRA

POR

ITA

GER

SUI

HOL

LUXBEL

GRE

FINNOR SUE

DIN

POL

ESL

R.TX

HON

LET

ESL

AUS

UK

IRL

United StatesJapanArgentinaSouth AfricaBelgiumFranceIndiaItalyAustraliaSpainTunisiaGermanyLuxembourgNorwaySwedenCanadaAustriaDenmarkIsraelNetherlandsPortugalChinaFinlandSouth KoreaUKSwitzerlandGreeceSlovakiaHungaryPolandCzech RepublicSloveniaHong KongLatviaIrelandCyprus

---5.0

21.014.021.019.612.521.010.021.018.019.015.025.025.0

5.020.025.017.021.023.017.023.010.020.0

8,023.020.027.023.020.020.0

---21.023.017.0

40.038.035.034.634.033.332.531.430.030.030.029.528.828.026.326.025.025.025.025.025.025.024.524.224.021.220.019.019.019.019.018.016.515.012.510.0

Note: The original database contained 130 countries, although the table contains a selected sample of benchmark countries.Source: KPMG’s Corporate and Indirect Tax Rate Survey 2012

CountryVAT Base Rate

(%)

Corporation Tax (%)

Corporate Tax BaseRate (%)

Source: KPMG, KPMG’s Corporate and Indirect Tax Rate Survey

19

Observatory of Barcelona 2013 Report. Prices and costs

57

Cost of living in cities around the world in 2012

Source: Mercer Human Resource Consulting, Worldwide Cost of Living Survey - city rankings

Barcelona’s position

2007 2008 2009 2010 2011200620052004

Highest cost

Lowest cost

31

38

49

66

31

56

43

56

The cost of living in Barcelona fell for the fourth consecutive year

For the fourth consecutive year Barcelona fell positions in the 2012 ranking of cities in the world with the highest costs of living. According to an annual survey by Mercer Human Resource Consulting which compares the prices of more than 200 basic products and services in 214 cities around the world, Barcelona is positioned in the 85th spot in the world ranking, meaning it fell 19 positions compared to the previous year. Since the recession began, Bar-celona has dropped 54 positions in the cost of living ranking, more than other European cities such as Paris, which went from 12th position in 2008 to 37th

in 2012, and Milan, which went from 10th to 38th over the same time period.

The fall in value of the euro against the dollar due the financial crisis in Eu-rope meant that the majority of European cities saw reductions in their costs of living, and as such dropped positions in the ranking, since the comparison is made with New York. In the particular case of Barcelona, the weakness of the European currency and the economy also meant it fell positions in the cost of living ranking, despite the rise in VAT and the fact that inflation in the province of Barcelona in 2012 averaged out at 2.9%. Therefore, Barcelona continues to be in a competitive position among major cities in Europe and the world.

2012

Ranking 2012Ranking 2011 City

Source: Mercer Human Resource Consulting. Worldwide Cost of Living Survey - city rankings

85

TokyoLuandaOsakaMoscowGenevaZurichSingaporeN’DjamenaHong KongNagoyaSydneySao PauloRio de JaneiroBernMelbourneShanghaiBeijingOsloPerthLibrevilleCopenhagenSeoulCanberraBrisbaneLondonKhartoumAdelaideSt. PetersburgCaracasShenzhenTel AvivGuangzhouNew YorkNiameyYangonKinshasaParisMilanLagosBamakoAbidjanRomeBrazzavilleDjiboutiBrasiliaStockholmNoumeaViennaBakuVictoriaDakarBarcelona

216457839

11141012162121201530121719343118444629514324383223706127254163673455393339373648254466

123456689

10111213141516171819202122232425262728293031313334353637383939414243444546474849505085

58

Barcelona continues to gain in competitiveness, but price adjustments have slowed

In 2012, the rental prices of offices in Barcelona fell for the third consecu-tive year to stand at 290C per square meter per year, which represents a decrease of 3.4% per annum, according to the study Global Market Rents by Richard Ellis. This means Barcelona occupied 49th position on this indicator in a sample of selected benchmark cities, just below Lisbon, Berlin, Copenhagen, Hamburg and Vienna, with prices much lower than other major European capitals. In fact, Barcelona is among a group of 13 benchmark cities out of a total of 54, where office rentals decreased in 2012, meaning it remains at the lower end of the ranking of referen-ce cities. These more competitive prices, along with a stock of new high quality offices helps make Barcelona more attractive for setting up a bu-siness and for companies when business activity does finally pick up.

Office rental prices in cities around the world in 2012

Source: CB Richard Ellis, Global Market Rents

Office rentals (€/m2)

200820062005 2007 2009 2010

Barcelona Milan MunichDublínAmsterdam

900

800

700

600

500

400

300

45

404329

Positioning of Barcelona

2011 2012

48 49

Office rentals(€/m2)City

Note: Data as of September 30, 2012. The annual price includes the total occupancy costs of offices in the centre of the city .The original database consists of 176 cities, though the table shows only a selected sample of benchmark cities.çSource: CB Richard Ellis Prime Office Occupancy Costs, December 2012

RankingAnnual

growth (%)

Hong Kong (Central)TokyoNew Delhi (CBD)MoscowLondonSao PauloRio de JaneiroParisSydneyShanghai (Pudong)GenevaWashington D.C. (Downtown)DubaiSeoul (CBD)Munbai (CBD)San Francisco (Downtown)ZurichBoston (Downtown)IstanbulLuxembourgStockholmNew York (Downtown)MilanManchesterEdinburghToronto (Downtown)FrankfurtGlasgowOsloRomeBuenos AiresMunichSantiago, ChileWarsawBrusselsMadridDublinMexicoHelsinkiAmsterdamPragueMontreal (Downtown)AthensViennaHamburgCopenhagenBerlinLisbonBarcelonaAtlantaRotterdamManilaDallas (Downtown)Johannesburg

2,061.001,650.001,534.001,446.001,118.001,088.001,016.001,002.00

995.98973.58880.85790.76774.45763.73759.75753.01736.11732.09692.59652.07638.79626.92620.88592.07585.42568.97554.84545.51543.08494.51466.38465.49443.39440.00436.36434.12434.00432.25422.22410.68396.00395.75368.39360.00349.68339.29306.00296.70289.89273.55272.40271.49259.02197.81

123456789101112131415161718192021222324252627282930313233343536373839404142434445464748495051525354

-13.93.3

-4.39.28.71.2

-3.70.1

13.026.6

3.24.37.4

11.9-10.442.2-4.617.7

4.30.09.2

11.90.08.95.35.90.07.8

10.0-2.23.15.4

21.53.10.0

-1.6-5.92.33.8

-0.30.0

10.5-9.52.73.8

-0.60.00.0

-3.44.9

-0.418.3

7.24.6

4338

Observatory of Barcelona 2013 Report. Prices and costs

59

Barcelona remains competitive despite the rise in rental prices

The study Main Streets Across the World by Cushman & Wakefield continued to pla-ce Barcelona amongst the most attractive cities in the world for attracting retail activity in 2012. Indeed, the most expensive street in Barcelona and throughout Spain, Portal de l’Àngel, is in 15th position in the world ranking in 2012 and falls two positions compared to 2011, which is still more than 50% cheaper than retail rentals in Paris, London and Milan.

However, rental prices for commercial premises in the city in general have risen because demand for key commercial retail space remained robust despite the ge-neral weakness of the economy. The strength of this demand comes from national brands that are expanding, as well as international selective and luxury brands that want to increase their presence in the city’s high streets. As such, retail rentals in Portal de l’Àngel and Passeig de Gràcia went up almost 2% and 7.7%, respec-tively, while in Rambla de Catalunya they remained flat, and in Avinguda Diagonal they fell 18.2%.

The highest increases in prices of shop rentals in 2012 were recorded in America and Asia-Pacific, especially in cities like New York and Hong Kong, but also in Pa-ris, because these have limited retail space and they are the most expensive in the world rankings. South America and Asia-Pacific will remain the most attractive lo-cations for retail businesses because the stock of retail space is new and modern and they have policy measures that support retail, for example, in India or China. Therefore, demand will remain high in the aforementioned cities because they of-fer a platform to strengthen brand and trademarks.

Rental rates for retail space in cities around the world in 2012

Nota: This ranking includes only the most expensive shopping street in each country.Source: Cushman & Wakefield, Main Streets Across the World 2012-13

Retail rental (€/m²/year)City Street

Hong KongNew YorkParisTokyoSydneyLondonZurichMilanSeoulMunichViennaSao PauloMoscowBeijingBarcelonaSingaporeDublinAmsterdamKuala LumpurTorontoTel AvivOsloKievBogotaCopenhagenNew DelhiPragueAthensIstanbulHelsinkiTaipeiBrusselsHo Chi Minh CityStockholmAucklandBeirutLuxembourgSantiagoCape TownDubaiBudapestSt HelierWarsawBuenos AiresLisbonAlmatyJakartaBangkokMuscatLimaMexico CityBucharestLjubljanaVilniusQuitoRigaBratislavaCaracasSofiaManamaTallinnAmman

Causeway Bay5th AvenueAvenue des Champs-ElyseesGinzaPitt Street MallNew Bond StreetBahnhofstrasseVia MontenapoleoneMyeongdongKaufingerstraseKohlmarktIguatemi ShoppingTverskayaWangfujingPortal de l’ÀngelOrchard RoadGrafton StreetKalverstraatPavilion KLBloor StreetRamat AvivKarl Johans GateKreschatik StreetShopping CentreStrøgetKhan MarketNa Prikope/Wenceslas SquareErmouCity CentreCity CentreZhongXiao E. RoadRue NeuveShopping CentreBiblioteksgatanQueen StreetABC Centre AchrafiehGrand RueDowntown (Paseo Ahumada)V&A WaterfrontShopping CentreVaci UtcaKing Streetul. Nowy SwiatFloridaChiadoHigh StreetShopping CentreCity CentreShopping CentreShopping CentreMasaryk AvenueBulevardul MagheruCopovaShopping CentreAv Naciones Unidas (Shopping Centre)Shopping CentreDowntownShopping CentreVitosha BlvdShopping CentreShopping CentreCity Centre (BCD)

22,30721,204

9,5738,9628,0777,9427,2437,0005,8224,2004,0803,6033,5463,4213,1803,0532,8102,8002,7242,6622,5412,5192,3642,3642,2872,2332,1002,0402,0331,9201,9141,8001,7971,6671,5961,5761,4401,4331,3871,3001,0801,0221,020

993960946926893860804738720720696605540504492480426360315

Source: Cushman & Wakefield

Retail premises rentals (t/m3/ year)

Rambla de Catalunya(Barcelona)

Kalverstraat(Amsterdam)

Passeig de Gràcia(Barcelona)

Portal de l’Àngel(Barcelona)

Preciados(Madrid)

Grafton Street(Dublin)

Via Montenapoleone(Milan)

(Milan)

Avenue des Champs Elysées(Paris)

5th Avenue(New York)

2009 2010 2011

0 5.000 10.000 15.000 20.000 25.000

2012

60

Prices fall in Barcelona for fourth year running

In 2012, the rentals on industrial space in Barcelona was 75 euro per square metre per year, below the figures of benchmark cities like London, Stock-holm, Amsterdam and Munich, according to the European Industrial Occupi-er Conditions report by Jones Lang LaSalle. The price of industrial space is lower than in 2011 (-3.8% per year), so Barcelona is among the group of Eu-ropean cities where prices have dropped, along with the likes of Amsterdam and Dublin, although in Barcelona’s case the fall was more moderate. Howe-ver, in other cities, such as London or Paris, prices have remained stable. London, with industrial rental spaces priced at 176 euro per square metre per year, remained the most expensive location in Europe in 2012, followed by Moscow and Stockholm. Weak demand in Barcelona is the main factor pushing the price of industrial space down. According to the analysis by Jo-nes Lang LaSalle, the rental of industrial space will stabilize in Barcelona in 2013, growing in 2014, a trend similar to those forecast for Berlin, Dublin and Milan.

Rental rates for industrial space in Europe in 2012 Industrial space rentals

(€/m2/year) 2012. (3rd Q.) CityLondonMoscowStockholmSt. PetersburgHelsinkiAmsterdamBirminghamMunichBarcelonaFrankfurtManchesterWarsawZagrebMadridHamburgKievDüsseldorfRotterdamIstanbulDublinBudapestRomeBerlinBrusselsMilanPragueParisAthensBelgradeBucharestAntwerpLyonBratislavaLisbon

176.0105.0104.0101.0

96.087.578.075.675.072.071.069.669.067.266.065.064.862.060.059.257.657.056.455.055.054.052.051.648.048.046.046.043.8n.d.

0.00.00.0

13.00.0

-5.40.00.0

-3.81.7

-4.5-0.5-4.2-6.70.00.00.00.00.0

-9.0-4.00.00.09.80.00.00.0

-3.40.0

-4.12.10.00.0

n.d.

Annual growth (%)

Source: Jones Lang LaSalle, 2013Western European Occupier Markets - Industrial

61

Barcelona remains in a mid-range position in Europe and the world

Gross salary levels in Barcelona increased in 2012, although by a smaller proportion than they did the year before. However, after tax deductions and social security contributions, net pay fell, which is different to what happened in 2011, when this actually rose, according to a report by UBS analysing wage trends in 72 cities around the world in relation to New York.

The evolution of wage levels in 2012 shows quite heterogeneous patterns, and Barcelona’s position in the ranking changes by just one position from its 30th place in 2011, rising to 29th in 2012 in the world rankings, and from 20th to 19th in the European rankings. So, Barcelona is located in the mid-table range regarding gross salary in Europe and the world, above cities like Madrid, Rome, Seoul, Dubai, Lisbon and Tel Aviv, but below Milan and Lyon.

Salary levels in cities around the world in 2012

Note: Actual salaries per hour calculated for 14 professions. The net pay is calculated after tax and contributionsto Social Security. Source: Prices & Earnings Around the globe, UBS.

Source: Prices & Earnings around the Globe, UBS

Gross salary index (New York = 100)

MunichDublinMilan AmsterdamBarcelona

70.360.0

75.0 73.0

82.0

59.652.0

New York =100

77.7 78.3

91.594.5

82.783.0

66.7

58.1

2010 2011 2012

Net Salary (New York = 100)City

ZurichGenevaCopenhagenOsloLuxembourgNew YorkSydneyTokyoMunichFrankfurtLos AngelesChicagoStockholmMiamiBrusselsHelsinkiViennaLondonBerlinAmsterdamParisDublinTorontoMontrealMilanLyonNicosiaAucklandBarcelonaMadridRomeSeoulDubaiLisbonTel AvivHong KongJohannesburgAthensLjubljanaTaipeiManamaMoscowSao PauloTallinnIstanbulBratislavaRio de JaneiroDohaPragueRigaWarsawBuenos AiresSantiago, ChileBogotaLimaVilniusKuala LumpurShanghaiBudapestCaracasBeijingBucharestBangkokSofiaMexicoCairoKievNairobiMumbaiManilaJakartaDelhi

132.4119.2

93.497.4

109.7100,098.090.476.078.180.980.678.179.959.574.270.875.270.169.473.678.868.666.261.564.768.563.558.757.948.250.264.242.643.549.838.940.032.039.338.833.830.528.328.227.327.534.425.121.421.925.421.522.023.121.222.021.618.123.418.013.517.413.615.112.111.210.2

9.38.19.28.3

131.1123.6123.1119.1105.4100.0

94.192.491.588.286,383.382.981.881.580.280.279.579.278.378.177.776.876.270.364.260.859.859.657.055.154.849.644.043.042.841.541.436.433.330.530.430.128.027.927.727.226.624.524.223.823.622.622.322.221.721.520,920.120.017.014.814.613.813.711.010.510.4

8.58.07.97.6

Ranking

123456789

101112131415161718192021222324252627282930313233343536373839404142434445464748495051525354555657585960616263646566676869707172

Gross salary(New York = 100)

62_Labour market and training

63

Introduction

Indicators showed the labour situation in the EU worsened in 2012 due to the sovereign debt crisis in the euro area, the economy’s fall into re-cession in the second half of that year, and unfavourable growth pros-pects in the short term. There were falls in employment and increases in unemployment in most member states which continued with a trend that started mid-2011 and that intensified at the end of that year. Within this dominant pattern, significant contrasts could be seen between countri-es like Germany, the UK and Austria, which show moderate increases in employment, while others such as France remain stable, but on the who-le there were job losses in most economies, especially in labour markets in southern Europe.

As such, in the case of Catalonia in 2011, employment rates were below the European average for the third consecutive year and the unemploy-ment rate continued to increase to twice the EU average, while experts predict a slow recovery of jobs lost during the crisis.

Given this context, Barcelona is still undergoing a process of adjustment and job destruction; however, this is again showing a more moderate trend than other nearby markets. Indeed, the city ended the year with ne-arly a million members registered with Social Security in the fourth quar-ter of 2012, an activity rate of 79.3%, which is seven percentage points above the EU average for Europe, and an employment rate standing at 64.3%, while female employment grew and the unemployment rate (19%) was well below the average for Catalonia and Spain.

The Strategic Framework 2012-2015 includes City Council goals for sta-ble and quality employment for all citizens. In this context, the so-called Barcelona Growth initiative is designed to revitalise employment services so that they meet the real needs of companies in terms of worker profiles and skills, and the needs of people in terms of improved professional op-portunities and better employability, which translates into higher levels of job placements.

One of Barcelona’s main assets is its critical mass of highly-qualified workers. In 2011 the percentage of workers and female workers with university education in Catalonia grew to 37,9 and 42,7%, respectively. Meanwhile, Barcelona remains a benchmark in terms of excellence in business training, being the only European city with two business schools (IESE and ESADE) in the top ten on the continent, according to the Finan-cial Times and The Economist Intelligence Unit, with both these schools climbing positions in the ranking published by the FT in 2013.

64

Source: Eurostat

The female employment rate in Catalonia remains at the same rate as the European average

The employment rate in the EU in 2011 stabilized after two years of decline, with a notable contrast between growth rates on this indicator in most of the regions with the highest rates and an overwhelming downward trend among-st countries which are below the European average.

The latter is the case of Spain and Catalonia where the respective employ-ment rates remain amongst the lowest in the table, having experienced a thi-rd fall since 2008. Thus, the employment rate in Catalonia was 62.5% in 2011, 0,6 percentage points less than in 2010 and below the European average for the third consecutive year. Despite this decline, Catalonia’s rates still stand above Spain’s, or those of Dublin, Rome and Brussels. Moreover, in 2011 the female employment rate remained stable at 58.3% in Catalonia, a compara-ble level to the European average and higher than the Spanish rate, but still far behind the continent’s regional leaders, with rates exceeding 70%.

As for Barcelona, the overall employment rate registered in the fourth quar-ter of 2012 was 64.3%. The fall in this rate over the year (of -1.6 points) was stronger than in 2011, but the indicator remained above the Spanish average and slightly up on the EU average (55.4% and 64.2%, respectively). Female employment rates behaved more favourably, showing a moderate increase compared to the previous year and standing at 63.5%, more than 4 percenta-ge points above the EU average (58.5 %).

Employment rates in European regions in 2011

Employment rate (%)

2008 2009 2010200620032000 2001 2002 2004 2005 2007

Catalonia Spain European Union

75

70

65

60

55

50

69.9

63.963.1

7170.4

69.3

6766.3

64.564.964

2011

62.5

Observatory of Barcelona 2013 Report. Labour market and training

65

Note: Labour force aged 15 to 64 years old.The original database contains 314 regions, although the table contains only a selected sample of reference regions.Source: Eurostat

Oslo (OSLO)Stockholm (Stockholm)Upper Bavaria (Munich)North Holland (Amsterdam)Stuttgart (Stuttgart)South Holland (Rotterdam)Denmark (Copenhagen)Darmstadt (Frankfurt)Hamburg (Hamburg)Eastern Scotland (EDINBURGH)Prague (Prague)Southern Finland (Helsinki)Dusseldorf (Düsseldorf)Vienna (Vienna)London (London)South-West Scotland (Glasgow)Berlin (Berlin)Greater Manchester (Manchester)Ile de France (Paris)Rhône-Alpes (LYON)Basque Country (Bilbao)Mazowsze (Warsaw)Estonia (TALLINN)Lombardy (Milan)Bucharest (Bucharest)EUROPEAN UNIONCommunity of Madrid (Madrid)Lisbon (Lisbon)Catalonia (Barcelona)West Midlands (Birmingham)Latvia (Riga)Provence-Alpes-Cote d’Azur (Marseille)Lithuania (Vilnius)South-East Ireland (Dublin)Central Hungary (Budapest)Lazio (Rome)Sofia (Sofia)SpainLanguadoc-Rosellón (Montpellier)Attica (Athens)Community of Valencia (Valencia)Brussels (Brussels)Istanbul (Istanbul)Ankara (ANKARA)

-0.61.41.70,31.81.8

-1.71.31.93.00.30.52.20.00.0

-0.81,10,40.6

-0.91.60.62.2

-0.60.20.2

-1.00.00.0

-1.31.40.41.8

-0.7-0.80.0

-9.0-0.30.7

-3.2-0.7-0.11.81.3

77.477.076.975.775.374.874.273.473.471.671.571.468.967.867.467.366.966.265.665.565.565.465.164.764.764.264.164.062.562.361.861.660.760.260.258.858.557.757.756.455.253.846.346.2

75.475.571.871.469.569.472.067.969.570.163.169.863.663.560.563.364.760.961.960.660.459.762,855.258.558.459.262.758.356.460.856.660.556,254.749.056.252.053.547.549.948.623.324.5

0.61.11.30.11.61.3

-1.01.51.81.30.00.71.50.0

-0.11.21.30.20.3

-0.40.31.04.1

-0.40.40.1

-1.0-1.1-0.6-1.32.50.02.9

-0.7-0.1-0.4-9.1-0.91.8

-3.8-1.2-1.02.42.1

Female employment rate (%) 2011

Variation 2010/2011 (in p.p)

Variation 2010/2011(en p.p)

Employment rate(%). 2011Region (City)

66

The unemployment rate in Catalonia, far above the European average

Despite the international economic slowdown and the on-going process of fiscal adjustment in the euro area in 2011, there wasn’t a general increase in unemployment rates in European regions and the level of this indicator in the EU as a whole remained stable compared to 2010. The labour situation continued to be especially difficult in Spain and Catalonia, where, despite a lower increase in unemployment rates than the previous year, there was an increase in the relative difference with the European average.

As such, the unemployment rate in Catalonia stood at 19.2% for the year in 2011, representing an increase of 1.4 percentage points on the previous year, and as such doubling the European average (9.6%) and continuing to diverge from the main areas of reference, although still below the Spanish average (21.6%). Meanwhile, the female unemployment rate stood at 18.6% in 2011, 1.9 points above 2010’s rate. The unemployment rate for women in Catalonia women is lower than the overall rate, while for the European Union it is slightly higher.

In Barcelona the fourth quarter of 2012 saw the overall unemployment rate standing at 19% and the female rate was 16.7%, having registered increa-ses of 1.8% and 0.5%, respectively, compared to the same period the year before. Considering these trends, city unemployment rates are below the averages for Catalonia and Spain.

The unemployment rate in European regions in 2011

Unemployment rate (%) 2011Region (city)

Note: Population over 15 years old .The original database contains 314 regions, although the table shows only a selected sample of reference regions. Source: Eurostat

Upper Bavaria (Munich)Oslo (OSLO)Prague (Prague)Stuttgart (Stuttgart)South Holland (Rotterdam)North Holland (Amsterdam)Darmstadt (Frankfurt)Bucharest (Bucharest)Hamburg (Hamburg)Lombardy (Milan)Stockholm (Stockholm)Southern Finland (Helsinki)Dusseldorf (Düsseldorf)Vienna (Vienna)Eastern Scotland (Edinburgh)Mazowsze (Warsaw)Denmark (Copenhagen)Rhône-Alpes (Lyon)Ankara (Ankara)Ile de France (Paris)Central Hungary (Budapest)Lazio (Rome)London (London)EUROPEAN UNIONSouthwest Scotland (Glasgow)Greater Manchester (Manchester)Provence-Alpes-Cote d’Azur (Marseille)Istanbul (Istanbul)Sofia (Sofia)West Midlands (Birmingham)Berlin (Berlin)Basque Country (Bilbao)Estonia (Tallinn)Languedoc-Roussillon (Montpellier)Southeast Ireland (Dublin)Lisbon (Lisbon)Lithuania (Vilnius)Latvia (Riga)Community of Madrid (Madrid)Brussels (Brussels)Attica (Athens)Catalonia (Barcelona)SpainValencia (Valencia)

2.83.43.63.74.14.44.75.45.45.86.56.96.97.17.37.98.18.18.58.68.88.99.69.69.69.9

10.311.111.211.311.912.012.512.714.014.115.415.416.716.917.619.221.624.5

2.93.03.83.94.34.44.65.15.06.76.66.35.76.85.27.88.39.2

10.88.58.49.89.59.88.98.4

11.314.510.010.410.712.811,813.210.312.813.013.116.815.419.618.622.224.8

Source: Eurostat

Unenployment rate (%)

2008 2009 2010200620032000 2001 2002 2004 2005 2007

European UnionSpainCatalonia

22

20

18

16

14

12

10

8

6

4

9.0

17.8

6.56.67.0

10.1

8.68.910.0 9.7

2011

19.2

16.3

Femaleunemployment

rate(%) 2011

Observatory of Barcelona 2013 Report. Labour market and training

67

The percentage of Catalan workers with university-level education rises

According to Eurostat, 37.9% of workers had a university-level education in Catalonia in 2011, an increase of one percent compared to the rate recorded the previous year. This indicator is clearly above the EU avera-ge (31.6%) and also above benchmark regions like Frankfurt, Lyon, Mi-lan and Birmingham, despite being slightly below the Spanish average (38.9%).

The percentage of female workers with a university education in Catalo-nia is again higher than the EU average, standing at 42.7% after having risen 1.3 percentage points compared to 2010. This indicator remains clearly above the European Union average (34.7%) and also above the benchmark regions mentioned above, but slightly lower than the Spanish average (43.4%).

These results show the progress in higher education in Catalonia in re-cent years, although further work is needed to raise the level of educati-on of the labour force in Catalonia to levels recorded in regions in Nort-hern Europe.

Workers with tertiary education in European regions in 2011

Source: Eurostat

Workers with tertiary education (% of total employment)

Lombardy(Milan)

Upper Bavaria(Munich)

Southeast Ireland (Dublín))

Catalonia (Barcelona)

North Holland(Amsterdam)

45

23

3129

9

43

33

37 37

19

2000 2011

Total workers with tertiary

education (%)

Female workers

with tertiary education (%) Region (City)

Note: % of the population between 25 and 64 with a university degreeThe original database contains313 regions, although the table shows a selected sample of benchmark regions.Source: Eurostat

London (London)Brussels (Brussels)Basque Country (Bilbao)Community of Madrid (Madrid)Denmark (Copenhagen)Southern Finland (Helsinki)East Scotland (Edinburgh)Southeast Ireland (Dublin)Stockholm (Stockholm)Ile de France (Paris)Southwest Scotland (Glasgow)Berlin (Berlin)North Holland (Amsterdam)Lithuania (Vilnius)Prague (Prague)Bucharest (Bucharest)SpainMazowsze (Warsaw)Greater Manchester (Manchester)Attica (Athens)Upper Bavaria (Munich)Catalonia (Barcelona)South Holland (Rotterdam)Sofia (Sofia)Central Hungary (Budapest)Valencia (VALENCIA)Darmstadt (Frankfurt)Provence-Alpes-Cote d’Azur (Marseille)Rhône-Alpes (LYON)Stuttgart (Stuttgart)Latvia (Riga)West Midlands (Birmingham)Languedoc-Roussillon (Montpellier)EUROPEAN UNIONVienna (Vienna)Lisbon (Lisbon)Dusseldorf (Düsseldorf)Lazio (Rome)Istanbul (Istanbul)Lombardy (Milan)Ankara (Ankara)

58.8%58.9%53.5%51.3%51.8%54.1%50.5%51.9%51.6%47.4%47.6%45.0%44.4%49.7%37.2%41.8%43.4%46.3%39.5%42.1%33.7%42.7%37.4%43.1%38.8%41.2%31.3%39.3%37.6%28.0%42.4%33.5%35.9%34.7%31.0%32.2%24.8%27.5%38.7%22.7%11.4%

56.8%54.1%52.3%48.7%47.9%47.6%46.9%46.8%46.3%45.6%44.8%42.8%42.6%41.9%39.3%38.9%38.9%38.9%38.6%38.4%38.1%37.9%36.6%36.5%36.3%36.2%35.3%35.3%34.3%34.0%33.4%32.5%31.6%31.6%30.8%28.5%28.2%23.2%22.7%18.9%12.3%

2010

43

47

38 38

19

68

Barcelona, the only city with two business schools in Europe’s top 10

According to a ranking of the top 100 full-time MBA programmes by the pres-tigious Financial Times newspaper, now in its 13th year, Barcelona is the only city with two educational institutions in the top ten best business schools of Europe in 2013, namely IESE and ESADE, which are placed 3rd and 8th, res-pectively. Both schools achieved better results than in 2012: IESE jumped two positions at the world level and one in the European ranking to stand in se-venth and third places respectively; ESADE recovered from its fall in 2012 and climbs 11 places in the world ranking to stand in 22nd spot, and four positions in Europe to reach eighth place. As such, it glides ahead of four British busi-ness schools that had climbed above ESADE the previous year and returns to its strong position achieved in 2011.

Moreover, according to the ranking Which MBA?, published annually by The Economist Intelligence Unit, these two business schools in Barcelona also obtained outstanding results in 2012, particularly IESE, which was in first place in the European rankings climbing one place at the global level (9th), while ESADE held on to fifth place at the European level, but lost a place in the world ranking (18th).

Year after year, these indicators show how Barcelona has become a city of excellence and an international benchmark for business education.

Best business schools in Europe in 2013

Source: Financial Times. Global MBA Ranking

Position in the European ranking

2008 2009 201220112010200720062005

IESE Business School ESADE Business School

5

9

44

12

8

4

7 76

10

4

10

8

2013

4

33

8

Observatory of Barcelona 2013 Report. Labour market and training

69

European Ranking 2013World Ranking 2013 Business schools City

Source: Financial Times. Global MBA

London Business SchoolInseadIese Business SchoolIE Business SchoolUniversity of Cambridge: JudgeIMDHEC ParisEsade Business SchoolUniversity of Oxford: SaïdWarwick Business SchoolManchester Business SchoolRotterdam School of Management, Erasmus UniversityCranfield School of ManagementSDA BocconiCity University: CassImperial College Business SchoolHult International Business SchoolThe Lisbon MBAUniversity College Dublin: SmurfitTilburg University, TiasNimbasMannheim Business SchoolLancaster University Management SchoolUniversity of Bath School of ManagementUniversität St GallenVlerick Leuven Gent Management SchoolUniversity of Strathclyde Business SchoolEM Lyon Business School

LondonFontainebleauBarcelonaMadridCambridgeLausanneParisBarcelonaOxfordCoventryManchesterRotterdamCranfieldMilanLondonLondonUK / USA / UAE ChinaLisbonDublinTilburgMannheimLancasterBathSt.GallenGhentGlasgowLyon

467

111619212224282933383940425761646469717282848792

123456789

101112131415161718192021212324252627

_Synthesis

72

2012 was a difficult year that interrupted the economic recovery in Cata-lonia, Spain and Europe in a process that was primarily due to financing needs and the cleaning up of the banking system in peripheral European economies, which has also had a global effect on the world. However, Barcelona has managed to maintain a strong position internationally and at the European level: in terms of the economy and business, most of the indicators contained in this Observatory of Barcelona 2013 Report show an environment characterized by unfavourable short-term prospects that, at the same time, offers new strategic opportunities.

Indeed, Barcelona has been positioned in the top six cities preferred by European executives to locate businesses for over a decade, and it is among the top three cities in the world for organizing international mee-tings. As well, in 2012 the city ranked 13th in the world and 7th in Europe in terms of its urban competitiveness among 40 top cities in the world, ac-cording to the Global Power City Index by the Mori Memorial Foundation, which provides an overall indicator about cultural interaction, quality of life, the environment, accessibility, R&D and the economy, and this year is included in the Observatory report for the first time. What’s also worth highlighting is the improvement in Barcelona’s position in terms of the foreign investment projects the city receives, with a KPMG report showing Barcelona jumped three places in the world rankings to 12th spot, ahead of Dusseldorf and Dublin, and 10th in the world when we take the entire 2008-2012 period.

Despite the current difficult economic times, Barcelona is known for its entrepreneurial spirit and business opportunities. First, its entrepreneu-rial activity rate increased in 2011, which is the first time this has happe-ned in five years, and this now stands above the rates in France, Finland and Germany. Second, the business prospects for exports in 2013 are among the most positive in Europe, and this seems to be a factor that is mitigating the impact of the recession.

In the area of knowledge and technology, Barcelona was up three posi-tions and ranked among the top ten cities in the world and fourth in the European ranking in terms of scientific production in 2012, which were the city’s best ever results. In addition, Catalonia was the fifth top region in Europe in terms of the number of employees working in high and me-dium-to-high technology manufacturing, and sixth in terms of workers in science and technology, and ninth in terms of knowledge-intensive high-technology services sectors in 2011, although the economic down-turn produced job losses in these areas. However, the number of PCT and technology patent applications in the Barcelona area followed a positive trend in 2010, set against a backdrop of decreases on this indicator in many benchmark provinces.

Barcelona also remains among the leading cities for attracting tourism. Barcelona Airport retained its ninth place in Europe in terms of passen-ger volume in 2012, ahead of Gatwick (London), Domodedovo (Moscow) and Orly (Paris). Also, Barcelona was the top European city in terms of cruise passengers in 2011, for the eleventh consecutive year. And for the third consecutive year, Barcelona kept its fifth place in the 2012 Euro-pean ranking regarding international tourist numbers. However, in the world ranking it fell four positions, although it remains in the top 20.

In terms of sustainability, this year, the Observatory of Barcelona 2013 Report incorporates a new indicator on quality of life developed by the United Nations Habitat agency, which places the city fifth in the world, as does the Economist Intelligence Unit’s indicator on the social and cultural character of cities. As well, Barcelona continues to be Europe’s top city in terms of quality of life for workers for the 14th consecutive year. Regarding the environment, we should also note that the province of Barcelona still holds a leading position in the European ranking for EMAS certification, despite a decline on this indicator in 2012. And the city enjoys a strong position in terms of its inner city transport system, ranking sixth in Europe.

The price competitiveness of Barcelona continues to improve with res-pect to benchmark cities as a result of weak demand and this will make the city attractive for businesses when the economic recovery starts. As such, the city has gotten cheaper and falls in the ranking in terms of cost of living, moving from 66th place in the world rankings in 2011 to 85th spot in 2012. Similar trends are seen in terms of office and indus-trial space rental prices. In the area of commerce and trade, Barcelona maintained its international appeal despite the rise in retail space ren-tals on the city’s main shopping streets, and with regard to salary, the city remains in a mid-table position in the world ranking. However, in the area of taxation, Barcelona has a less competitive position, because the corporate tax rate remained at 30%, significantly above the EU average rate (22.6%), while increases in VAT rates put Barcelona on a par with the general average rate in Europe.

Barcelona is the only city with two educational institutions in the top 10 best business schools ranking in Europe. IESE and ESADE rank third and eighth-best business schools in Europe, respectively, after climbing one and four positions in the prestigious Financial Times ranking. Also, in 2011 the percentage of workers with a university education in Catalonia grew and this now exceeds benchmark regions such as Frankfurt, Lyon and Milan. Yet the Catalan labour market is still marked by a process of adjustment and job destruction, and this lowered the employment rate to below the European average, while the unemployment rate continues

Observatory of Barcelona 2013 Report. Synthesis

73

to rise. Although this process is more moderate in the city of Barcelona than the general environment, it is important to highlight its socio-eco-nomic relevance and its impact on social cohesion.

This year, the Observatory of Barcelona presents a special report called the Business climate in the Metropolitan Area of Barcelona (AMB), which analyzes business trends in 2012 and makes forecasts for the main bu-siness variables for 2013. This analysis highlights a significant decrease in sales in 2012 of around 10% (nominal) more than in the previous two years, and it shows that the sectors affected most were the construction sector and commerce. Export business was the only area that grew in 2012 and this helped moderate the decline in industrial activity. For 2013, forecasts point to a moderation in decreases in turnover, employment and investment in the AMB. In this complex environment, Barcelona’s nomination as Mobile World Capital until 2018 by GSMA represents a strategic opportunity that can spur on all of the knowledge economy, even creating a leading business cluster in the world mobility sector that will position the city as an inter-national benchmark in technology and a global platform for successful solutions. A special report on the mobile ecosystem in Barcelona and Ca-talonia defines what is meant by a mobile ecosystem and analyzes recent developments in the world and the sector’s current economic dimensi-ons in Catalonia and Barcelona to understand the main opportunities and challenges in order to strengthen the metropolitan area’s mobile ecosystem.

74

1

2

3

4

5

6

7

8

9

10

11

12

13

14

15

Best cities for business

2011

Global competitiveness

of cities2012

Entrepreneurialactivity rate1.3

2011

Business outlook exports1.3,

2013

Best European cities forshopping

2011

Foreigninvestment

projects2012

Organizationof international

meetings2011

Scientific production

2012

Employees in highand mid-to-high

technology manufacturing2

2011

Workersin science

and tecnologhy2

2011

1. The ranking refers to a selected sample2. The ranking refers to regions or provinces3. The ranking refers to three countries

Beijing

London

Tokyo

Seoul

Boston

Paris

New York

Shanghai

Madrid

Barcelona

Moscow

Baltimore

Los Angeles

Sao Paulo

Toronto

Milan

Stuttgart

Munich

Paris

Barcelona

Istanbul

Düsseldorf

Frankfurt

Lyon

Madrid

Rotterdam

Oslo

Bilbao

Marseille

Helsinki

London

Barcelona

Madrid

Paris

Rome

Berlin

Lisbon

Amsterdam

Prague

Budapest

Milan

Vienna

Istanbul

Dublin

Brussels

China

Argentina

Brazil

Slovakia

United States

Latvia

Poland

Netherlands

Greece

EU average

UK

Barcelona

Catalonia

Switzerland

Finland

Vienna

Paris

Barcelona

Berlin

Singapore

Madrid

London

Amsterdam

Istanbul

Beijing

Budapest

Lisbon

Seoul

Copenhagen

Prague

London

New York

Paris

Tokyo

Singapore

Seoul

Amsterdam

Berlin

Hong Kong

Vienna

Beijing

Frankfurt

Barcelona

Shanghai

Sydney

Latvia

Portugal

Denmark

Catalonia

Estonia

Malta

Romania

Belgium

Slovakia

Italy

Spain

Poland

Bulgaria

Austria

Sweden

London

Hong Kong

Shanghai

Sao Paulo

New York

Beijing

Moscow

Sydney

San Francisco

Paris

Mumbai

Barcelona

Düsseldorf

Bangalore

Dublin

Paris

London

Madrid

Warsaw

Lyon

Barcelona

Munich

Milan

Düsseldorf

Seville

Berlin

Stuttgart

Cologne

Marseille

Frankfurt

London

Paris

Frankfurt

Amsterdam

Berlin

Barcelona

Madrid

Brussels

Munich

Zurich

Geneva

Milan

Stockholm

Düsseldorf

Hamburg

Observatory of Barcelona 2013 Report. Synthesis

75

London

Paris

Berlin

Stockholm

Madrid

Barcelona

Munich

Manchester

Zurich

Leeds

Frankfurt

Geneva

Amsterdam

Copenhagen

Lyon

Tokyo

San Jose

New York

Boston

Osaka

Seoul

Los Angeles

Houston

Stuttgart

Chicago

Munich

Seattle

Stockholm

…

21 Barcelona

London Heathrow (LHR)

Miami

Port Everglades

Port Canaveral

Barcelona

Venice

Southampton

New York

Santos

Savona

Singapore

Galveston

Tampa

Seattle

Copenhagen

Long Beach

Germany

Spain

Italy

Austria

Denmark

Portugal

Barcelona

UK

Belgium

Greece

Poland

France

Czech Republic

Norway

Hungary

PCT patentaplications1,2

2010

Airport passengers

2012

International tourists

2011

Cruise passengers

2011

EMAScertification3

2012

Quality of lifefor workers

2011 Quality of life

2012

Social andcultural character

2012

Best cities forinternal transport

2011

1. The ranking refers to a selected sample2. The ranking refers to regions or provinces3. The ranking refers to three countries4. Ranking goes from less to more

1

2

3

4

5

6

7

8

9

10

11

12

13

14

15

Cost of living2012

Paris Roissy (CDG)

Frankfurt(FRA)

Amsterdam (AMS)

Madrid (MAD)

Istanbul (IST)

Munich (MUC)

Rome-Fiumicino (FCO)

London Gatwick (LGW)

Moscow Domo-dedovo (DME)

Paris Orly (ORY)

Moscow (SVO)

Antalya (AYT)

Zurich (ZHR)

Barcelona (BCN)

Hong Kong

Singapore

London

Kuala Lumpur

Macau

Bangkok

Antalya

Shenzhen

New York

Istanbul

Guangzhou

Paris

Dubai

…

20 Barcelona

Barcelona

Stockholm

Zurich

Geneva

Madrid

Munich

Copenhagen

Vienna

Paris

London

Oslo

Edinburgh

Amsterdam

Brussels

Hamburg

Tokyo

Stockholm

Paris

Oslo

Barcelona

Toronto

Helsinki

Seoul

London

Milan

Auckland

Athens

Vienna

Melbourne

Amsterdam

Zurich

Sydney

New York

Los Angeles

Barcelona

Madrid

London

Frankfurt

Chicago

Berlin

Vienna

Toronto

Paris

Miami

Dublin

Tokyo

Luanda

Osaka

Moscow

Geneva

Zurich

Singapore

N’Djamena

Hong Kong

Nagoya

Sydney

Sao Paulo

Rio de Janeiro

…

85 Barcelona

76

Office rentals2012

CorporateTax1,3 2012

Industrialspace rentals

2012

Salarylevels2012

EmploymentRate1,2 2011

Workerswith tertiary

studies1,2

2011

Unemployment Rate1,2,4

2011

Business schools 2013

1. The ranking refers to a selected sample2. The ranking refers to regions or provinces3. The ranking refers to three countries4. Ranking goes from less to more value

1

2

3

4

5

6

7

8

9

10

11

12

13

14

15

Tokio

New Delhi (CBD)

Moscow

London

Sao Paulo

Rio de Janeiro

Paris

Sydney

Shangai (Pudong)

Geneva

Dubai

…

49 Barcelona

Retailpremises rentals

2012

Washington D.C.(Downtown)

United States

Japan

Argentina

South Africa

Belgium

France

India

Italy

Australia

Barcelona

Tunisia

Germany

Luxembourg

Norway

Sweden

Zurich

Geneva

Copenhagen

Oslo

Luxembourg

New York

Sydney

Tokyo

Munich

Frankfurt

Los Angeles

Chicago

Stockholm

…

29 Barcelona

Munich

Oslo

Prague

Stuttgart

Rotterdam

Amsterdam

Frankfurt

Bucharest

Hamburg

Milan

Stockholm

Helsinki

Düsseldorf

…

41 Barcelona

London

Brussels

Bilbao

Madrid

Copenhagen

Helsinki

Edinburgh

Dublin

Stockholm

Paris

Glasgow

Berlin

Amsterdam

…

21 Barcelona

Oslo

Stockholm

Munich

Amsterdam

Stuttgart

Rotterdam

Copenhagen

Frankfurt

Hamburg

Edinburgh

Prague

Helsinki

Düsseldorf

…

28 Barcelona

London

Moscow

Stockholm

St. Petersburg

Helsinki

Amsterdam

Birmingham

Munich

Barcelona

Frankfurt

Manchester

Warsaw

Zagreb

Madrid

Hamburg

Hong Kong (Central)

Hong Kong- Causeway Bay

New York-Fifth Avenue

Paris-Avenue des Champs Elysées

Tokio- Ginza

Sydney-Pitt Street Mall

London-New Bond Street

Zurich-Bahnhofstrasse

Milan-Via Montenapoleone

Seoul-Myeongdong

Munich-Kaufingerstrasse

Vienna- Kohlmarkt

Sao Paulo- Iguatemi Shopping

Moscow-Tverskaya

Beijing-Wangfujing

Barcelona-Portal de l’Àngel

London - London Business School

Fontainebleau - Insead

Barcelona - Iese Business School

Madrid - IE Business School

Cambridge - University of Cambridge: Judge

Lausanne - IMD

París - HEC París

Barcelona - Esade Business School

Oxford - University of Oxford: Saïd

Coventry - Warwick Business School

Manchester - Manchester Business School

Cranfield - Cranfield School of Management

Milan - SDA Bocconi

London - City University: Cass

Rotterdam - Rotterdam School of Management, Erasmus University

Observatory of Barcelona 2013 Report. Synthesis

77

_Special reports

80

BUSINESS CLIMATE INTHE METROPOLITAN AREA OF BARCELONASituation in 2012 and outlook for 2013

Index

1. Business climate: situation and trends in 2012

2. Factors that have limited business performance in 2012

3. Business outlook for 2013

4. List of graphs and tables

5. Methodology Appendix

Executive summary

• Business activity fell again and the economy entered into recession, which made business performance in the AMB (Metropolitan Area of Barcelona) worse in 2012 than in 2011.

• The Declines in sales, sales prices, investment and employment accelerated in 2012 compared to the previous year.

• The construction and commerce sectors experienced the worst results in 2012.

• The export industry is the only variable that grew in 2012.

• Turnover in the AMB region fell almost 10% nominal in 2012, a bigger fall than in the previous two years.

• Weak demand continued to limit business performance in 2012, and this factor grew in weight compared to 2011.

• The commerce and construction sectors are most affected by weak demand, and these sectors are also less exposed to international demand and more dependent on domestic demand, which is falling.

• The second and third most limiting factors are increases in competition and financial difficulties, which also gained in relevance in 2012.

• The hospitality sector is more affected by increased competition and less so by financing difficulties.

• Business executives expect that declines in turnover and employment will moderate in 2013 compared to 2012, while investment will stabilize.

• The Forecasts for these variables in the AMB region are less negative than for Catalonia, except in terms of investment.

Observatory of Barcelona 2013 Report. Special reports

81

1. Business climate: situation and trends in 2012

2012 was worse than 2011 across the whole world economy, and the me-tropolitan area of Barcelona was no exception, according to the results of the Survey on Business Climate by Barcelona Chamber of Commerce and Idescat.

In the AMB region all business variables suffered a widespread deteriora-tion across all the sectors analyzed, even in the hospitality business. The only variable showing a positive and stable trend was industrial exports, which continued to grow.

This same results can also be seen across the whole of Catalonia and Spain, although it should be noted that the evolution of exports is less favorable than in the AMB region.

Business performance in the AMB region was unfavorable in 2012. This is the opinion of the majority of business executives, with 58% qualifying it as unfavorable, compared to 7% qualifying as favorable. But, as well, the-re was a worsening in overall business performance seen by the fact that there was an increase in the percentage of business people qualifying it as unfavorable and there was a fall in the number of those qualifying as favorable compared to 2011’s report ( 44% and 11%, respectively).

Table 1.1 Business climate in the economy2

Comparison between Catalonia and Spain

2The results for the overall economy is the aggregation of results for industry, construction, retail and commerce, hotels and the rest of services. 1The results for Spain are not directly comparable to those in Catalonia and the AMB region because they follow the same methodology used by INE to build their harmonized confidence indicator, but they are qualitatively comparable. Results by sector in Spain, though, are not published according to variables and sectors for 2012, which is why in this special report we cannot make a comparison between the results of sectors in the AMB with Spain.

The overall results regarding business performance for the whole of Catalonia in 2012 were very similar, with 55% of executives describing performance as unfavorable and just 7% qualifying it as favorable, and overall the situation was worse than 2011 (when these percentages stood at 43% and 12%, respectively). In fact, the poorer performance of busi-ness variables analyzed in the survey was also seen across the whole of Catalonia and Spain, as shown in Table 1.1.

The worsening business performance was accompanied by falls across all the variables analyzed, including turnover. This is evident from in the estimates regarding quantitative business trends for these variables in 2012. According to employers, turnover in the metropolitan area fell by almost 10% nominal, employment was down by 6.2% and investment by 4.3%, which shows why 2012 was the year with the biggest drop in tur-nover in the AMB region over the last three years (in 2010, it fell 4.3%, in 2011, 8.6%).

Graph 1.1. Trends in business performance in the economy. Situation 2011-2012.Comparison with CataloniaAmounts1 in percentages

1The balance is the difference between the percentage of companies indicating that business performance has been good and the percentage of companies indicating that it has been bad.

Source: Barcelona Chamber of Commerce and Idescat

2011 2012

AMBCatalonia

0

-10

-20

-30

-40

-50

-60

Overall economy AMB Catalonia Spain3

Situation in 2012

Business performance Poor Poor ---

Trend comparison 2012 to 20111

Sales volume

Sales prices

Number of employees

Investments

Source: Chamber of Commerce and Idescat (AMB and Catalonia), CSC and INE (Spain). Positive and better than last year Negative and better than last year Positive and worse than last year Negative and worse than last year Positive and no change compared to last year Negative and no change compared to last year

82

These estimates of the trends seen in the AMB region in 2012 are very si-milar across the whole of Catalonia, as shown in Graph 1.2. The greatest difference is observed in investment, which in the AMB falls 0.6% more than in Catalonia.

Results per sectorAccording to the results of the Business Climate Survey, businesses per-formance in the metropolitan area weakened in 2012 in all the sectors analyzed. In general, the sectors which recorded the worst results were the construction and commerce sectors. However, in the case of retail and commerce, the main difference compared to other sectors, was mainly in turnover, whereas in the case of construction, the difference was generalized.

However, manufacturing industry registered a notable decline in 2012, even though 2011 was not a good year, either. The deterioration was ex-plained by the worsening sovereign debt crisis in the euro region and the effects this has had on the entire world economy and, therefore, world trade and industrial exports, which tended to slow, while fiscal conso-lidation processes in our country depressed an already weak domestic demand further.

This has led to steeper falls in industrial turnover in the AMB region in 2012, and the amount is more negative than the previous year’s. In 2012, 46% of executives said there was a decline in turnover, compared to 18% who said they experienced increases; in 2011, these figures were 40% and 28%, respectively. This situation worsened because of depressed domestic demand. Exports, however, saw positive results and prevented industry turnover figures falling even more intensely.

Indeed, the overall trend for industrial exports in 2012 was good: the per-centage of executives who indicated increases in exports (18%) exceeded the number that noted falls (13%). This result was more positive than those recorded in Catalonia and Spain. Figures for all exports of goods in 2012 confirm this difference in performance: the best results were seen in the Province of Barcelona, which saw rises of 7.1% nominal, while in Catalonia and Spain, it was 5% and 3.8%, respectively.

The weakening of domestic demand intensified in 2012 and this led to faster falls in industrial sales prices, something that had stabilized in 2011. The percentage of businesses that experienced price falls in fact rose from 18% in 2011 to 21% in 2012, while the amount of executives saying prices had gone up in fact went down from 13% to 7%, respecti-vely.

Graph 1.2. Evolution of turnover, employment and investment in the economy. Si-tuation 2012. Comparison with Catalonia.Nominal annual rates of change in percentages

Source: Barcelona Chamber of Commerce and Idescat

Turnover Investment

AMBCatalonia

0

-2

-4

-6

-8

-10

-12

Employment

-9.9 -9.7

-4.3

-3.7

-6.2-6.3

Graph 1.3. Evolution of turnover in the economy (2010-2012)Nominal annual rates of change in percentages

Source: Barcelona Chamber of Commerce and Idescat

2010 2011

0

-2

-4

-6

-8

-10

-12

2012

-4.3

-8.6

-9.9

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Similarly, the fall in business activity and a return to recession in 2012 meant that falls in employment intensified: on the one hand, there was an increase in the percentage of businesses indicating that employment had fallen from 18% in 2011 to 22% in 2012; while those claiming employment had grown in fact decreased from 10% to 7%, respectively.

Meanwhile, investment has also shown signs of further downturns. The percentage of businesses indicating a decline increased from 15% in 2011 to 25% in 2012, while the percentage indicating increases in invest-ment actually fell from 16% to 9%, respectively.

In terms of construction, the overall balance in terms of business perfor-mance was worse than any other sector analyzed in the 2012 Business Climate Survey, and like all other sectors, it also worsened compared to 2011. A deterioration in this sector was recorded for all variables in the analysis (turnover, sales prices, employment and investment) and, in fact, results were worse for this sector on all variables. Therefore, this shows a relapse in the construction sector and the fact that 2009 didn’t mark the bottom of the crisis, as previously thought.

Thus, in terms of turnover (civil and public works actually completed) the percentage of businesses indicating a fall in sales was 45% in 2011 and 60% in 2012, while the percentage of executives indicating increases in sales remained small and almost stable (7% in 2011 and 6% in 2012). Thus, the rate of decrease in works actually completed rose compared to the previous year.

The decrease in sales prices also intensified: the percentage of em-ployers that said there had been a fall grew from 39% in 2011 to 46% in 2012, compared to the percentage that indicated an increase, which stood at 1% in 2012 (0% in 2011).

The loss of jobs also accelerated: the percentage of employers indicating falls in employment rose to 50%, while those claiming increases dropped to 2%.

In terms of investment, the percentage of businesses that indicated re-ductions in investment went up to 44%, almost twice that compared to two years ago, while the percentage of businesses indicating an increase stabilized at 2%.

Table 1.2. Business climate in industry.Comparison with Catalonia

Source: Barcelona Chamber of Commerce and Idescat

Industry AMB Catalonia

Situation in 2012

Business performance Poor Poor

Trend comparison 2012 to 2011

Sales volume

Exports

Sales prices

Number of employees

Investments

Table 1.3. Business climate in the construction sector.Comparison with Catalonia

Source: Barcelona Chamber of Commerce and Idescat

Construction AMB Catalonia

Situation in 2012

Bussines performance Poor Poor

Trend comparison 2012 to 2011

Sales volume

Sales prices

Number of employees

Investments

Positive and better than last year Negative and better than last year Positive and worse than last year Negative and worse than last year Positive and no change compared to last year Negative and no change compared to last year

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After the construction sector, commerce in the AMB region recorded its most negative results in terms of turnover. In 2012, 60% of businesses in-dicated declines in sales, the same percentage as in the construction busi-ness, but with a higher percentage of business people indicating an increase in sales, standing at 6% in the commerce sector, virtually the same as the previous year (7% in 2011).

In 2012, sales prices in commercial establishments and retail continued to fall. However, the overall balance is the least negative of all sectors analyzed. The percentage of businesses that experienced falling prices was 21% in 2012, compared with 13% indicating increases.

Also, in terms of employment, more jobs continued to be destroyed in 2012, but the overall balance is not as negative as in the case of turnover. The percentage of businesses indicating declines in worker numbers stood at 24%, while the percentage indicating increases was 4%.

Levels of investment also continued to decline in 2012. Indeed, 26% of business people say levels have decreased compared to 7% indicating in-creases in investment.

The hotels and restaurants sector has traditionally seen two different periods with different seasonal behaviors, but in 2012 this difference was more pronounced than other years: the high season quarters, that is, the second and third quarters, registered a favorable business performance (positive balance), while the first, and especially the fourth quarter, were unfavorable (negative), especially in the last quarter of 2012, coinciding with a deepening of the crisis in the euro area, which makes up the main countries of origin for tourists to the AMB region.

This means that the overall balance for the whole year in 2012 was only slightly negative, in others words an unfavorable business performance, but significantly less negative than other sectors. Thus, in 2012, the per-centage of business people in the hotels and restaurants sector quali-fying the year as unfavorable was 26%, similar to 24% that qualified it as favourable.

Table 1.5. Business climate in the the hotels and restaurants sector. Comparison with Catalonia

Source: Barcelona Chamber of Commerce and Idescat

Hotels and restaurants AMB Catalonia

Situation in 2012

Business performance Poor Poor

Trend comparison 2012 to 2011

Sales volume

Sales prices

Number of employees

Investments

Table 1.4. Business climate in the commerce and trade sector. Comparison with Catalonia

Commerce AMB Catalonia

Situation in 2012

Business performance Poor Poor

Trend comparison 2012 to 2011

Sales volume

Sales prices

Number of employees

Investments

Source: Barcelona Chamber of Commerce and Idescat

Positive and better than last year Negative and better than last year Positive and worse than last year Negative and worse than last year Positive and no change compared to last year Negative and no change compared to last year

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Table 1.6. Business climate in the rest of services.Comparison with Catalonia

Rest of services AMB Catalonia

Situation in 2012

Business performance Poor Poor

Trend comparison 2012 to 2011

Sales volume

Sales prices

Number of employees

Investments

Source: Barcelona Chamber of Commerce and Idescat

Positive and better than last year Negative and better than last year Positive and worse than last year Negative and worse than last year Positive and no change compared to last year Negative and no change compared to last year

The same was seen in terms of turnover: a good second quarter and po-orer third quarter, but still positive. However, the overall balance in the other two negative quarters meant that the whole of 2012 ended with an overall negative balance, although this is the least negative of all sectors analyzed. Thus, the percentage of employers indicating sales growth is 24%, lower than the percentage indicating declines, which stood at 35%.

Sales prices in the hospitality sector in 2012 in the AMB region fell, even though they in fact grew in the second quarter just before the start of Holy Week.

The number of employees also fell in 2012, mainly due to decreases in the last quarter, which offset increases in the two high season quarters.

Also, investment in the hospitality sector showed a slight overall negative fall in 2012. 16% of businesses said this fell, more than the 9% indicating that investment rose. The result overall however, is less negative than any of the other sectors in the survey.

In the rest of services, business performance, like all sectors, was unfa-vorable in 2012: the percentage of businesses that qualified performance as unfavorable was 48%, more than those saying it was favorable (7%).

Turnover was also negative in 2012, with 51% of businesses indicating this fell, compared to 14% that said it had increased.

Sales prices recorded an overall negative balance in 2012, with 29% of businesses saying this fell, compared to 3% indicating a rise.

Employment, meanwhile, recorded similar results to sales prices in 2012, with the percentage of businesses indicating a fall standing at 28% and just 7% indicating an increase.

Investment also continued to fall, with 26% of employers indicating a decline in 2012, while just 6% pointed to an increase.

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2. Factors that have limited business performance in 2012

The worsening economic crisis in our country and across the whole euro region has been reflected by much weaker demand, which is the factor that most businesses mention as limiting business performance, and this factor also gained prominence in 2012.

Commerce and construction were the two most affected sectors by weak demand patterns. 2012 also saw an increasing importance in competition and financial difficulties, which are the second and third most important factors limiting business performance.

Results per sector

91% of businesses in the metropolitan area indicate that weak demand is limiting business performance and that this is the main limiting factor, incidentally higher than the percentages recorded in 2011, when this fi-gure stood at 81%. The construction and commerce sectors remain the most affected by this factor, with commerce slightly more affected than the construction trade: 96% of businesses in commerce and 95% of cons-truction industry businesses say weak demand is the factor that is most limiting business performance. In other sectors this is also the factor most mentioned by business people as limiting performance, although the hospitality sector has the lowest affectation rates although still so-mewhat high, standing at 84%, followed by industrial manufacturing and other services (89% each). This is due to the fact that the hospitality sec-tor was less negatively affected because external demand compensated for weaknesses in domestic demand..

The second factor mentioned by businesses in the AMB region is increa-sed competition, and the third, financing difficulties, practically standing at the same levels as 2012. Increased competition is mentioned by 51% of businesses, and finance difficulties by 49%.

Graph 2.1 Factors that limit business performance across the whole economy. Comparison 2011-2012 (percentage)

Source: Barcelona Chamber of Commerce and Idescat Source: Barcelona Chamber of Commerce and Idescat, Chambers of Commerce (Spain)

20112012

9181

5146

4935

Weak demand

Increased competition

Financial difficulties

Lack of adequate labour force

Insufficient production facilities

65

34

Table 2.1 Factors that limit business performance across the whole economy. Comparison between Catalonia and Spain (percentage)

Conjunt de l’economia AMB Catalonia Spain4

Weak demand 91 89 81

Increased competition 51 47 32

Financial difficulties 49 46 45

Lack of adequate labour force 6 6 3

Insufficient production facilities 4 5 2

Table 2.2 Factors that limit the business performance of industry.omparison between Catalonia and Spain (percentage)

Source: Barcelona Chamber of Commerce and Idescat

Industry AMB Catalonia

Weak demand 89 88

Increased competition 46 45

Financial difficulties 42 42

Lack of adequate labour force 5 5

Insufficient production facilities 5 4

4The results available for Spain are only aggregates for the whole economy. There are no performance results per sector.

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Regarding the second-most important factor, increased competition, the hospitality sector has been most affected, with this factor being mentio-ned by 74% of businesses, followed by the construction sector with 61%. In the case of this sector, this factor is as important as others like finan-cing difficulties, which is pointed to by 62% of constructors in the AMB region, where construction recorded the highest percentage. However, financial difficulties are mentioned by just 29% of businesses in the hos-pitality sector, which has the lowest percentages on this factor. Also note that increased competition in other sectors (Industry, commerce and ot-her services) affects these businesses far less than the maximum recor-ded in the hospitality industry, although these are still high (standing be-tween 46% and 48%). The same happens in terms of finance difficulties: fewer businesses in these three sectors mentioned it, ranging between 42% and 48% in 2012.

Thanks to a comparative study of results by sectors in the AMB and the whole of Catalonia, the most notable differences are:

• Financing difficulties in the construction industry is more important in the AMB region than in Catalonia. However, in the hospitality sector the opposite takes place.

• Increased competition is a more important limiting factor for com-merce and hotels and restaurants in the AMB than in Catalonia, and especially so in the hotels and restaurants industry.

These results show that, firstly, there is more competition in the catering trade and in commerce in the AMB region, because it accounts for a hig-her percentage of business activities. Moreover, hospitality in the AMB region has fewer problems in terms of funding because it has a higher volume of business activity than the rest of Catalonia. In turn, the cons-truction sector regards these problems as more important because its overall activity level is lower due to a drop in housing construction and other construction work, which it is probably more likely to be dependent than in the rest of Catalonia.

Table 2.3 Factors that limit business performance in the construction sector.Comparison between Catalonia and Spain (percentage)

Source: Barcelona Chamber of Commerce and Idescat

Gains in importance in terms of being a limiting factor for business compared to the previous year Loses in importance in terms of being a limiting factor for business compared to the previous year Maintains its level of importance in terms of being a limiting factor for business compared to the previous year

Construction AMB Catalonia

Weak demand 95 93

Increased competition 62 56

Financial difficulties 61 63

Lack of adequate labour force 8 7

Insufficient production facilities 3 3

Table 2.4 Factors that limit business performance in the commerce sector. Comparison between Catalonia and Spain (percentage)

Source: Barcelona Chamber of Commerce and Idescat

Commerce AMB Catalonia

Weak demand 96 94

Financial difficulties 47 45

Increased competition 46 42

Lack of adequate labour force 4 5

Insufficient production facilities 4 4

Table 2.6 Factors that limit business performance in the rest of services sector. Comparison between Catalonia and Spain (percentage)

Source: Barcelona Chamber of Commerce and Idescat

Gains in importance in terms of being a limiting factor for business compared to the previous year Loses in importance in terms of being a limiting factor for business compared to the previous year Maintains its level of importance in terms of being a limiting factor for business compared to the previous year

Rest of services AMB Catalonia

Weak demand 89 87

Increased competition 48 45

Financial difficulties 48 48

Lack of adequate labour force 6 6

Insufficient production facilities 4 5

Table 2.5 Factors that limit business performance in the hotels and restaurants sector.Comparison between Catalonia and Spain (percentage)

Source: Barcelona Chamber of Commerce and Idescat

Hotels and restaurants AMB Catalonia

Weak demand 84 87

Increased competition 74 53

Financial difficulties 29 36

Lack of adequate labour force 9 8

Insufficient production facilities 8 8

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2. Business Outlook for 2013

Business executives in the metropolitan area of Barcelona forecast that 2013 will not be as negative as 2012: there will be a moderation in the fall in turnover and also in employment, while investment will stabilize.

The decline expected in terms of sales and employment is lower than for forecasts across the whole of Catalonia in 2013, in contrast to investment.

The results of the Business Climate Survey indicate that turnover in the AMB region will fall nearly 4% (nominal) in 2013, less than half the rates seen in 2012, and employment will fall by 3.1%, half the previous year’s rate. However, investment will fall by 4.3% in 2013, the same as in 2012.If we compare these results with those of Catalonia, an evident trend emerges showing a slightly less negative picture in the AMB than Cata-lonia in terms of turnover and employment, although not for investment, which is expected to fall by twice the rate in Catalonia.

Graph 3.1. Forecasts for 2013. Main variables.Comparison with CataloniaNominal annual rates of change in percentage

Source: Barcelona Chamber of Commerce and Idescat

Turnover Investment

AMBCatalonia

0

-2

-4

-6

Employment

-3.9-4.3 -4.3

-2.2

-3.1

-3.7

4. List of graphs and tables

Graphs

1.1 Trends in business performance across the whole economy. Situation 2011-2012. Comparison with Catalonia

1.2 trends in turnover, employment and investment in the whole economy. Situation in 2012. Comparison with Catalonia

1.3 Trends in turnover in the whole economy, 2010-2012

2.1 Factors limiting business performance in the whole economy. Comparison 2011-2012

3.1 Outlook for 2013. Main variables. Comparison with Catalonia

Tables

1.1 Business climate across the economy. Comparison with Catalonia and Spain

1.2 Business climate in the industrial sector. Comparison with Catalonia

1.3 Business climate in the construction sector. Comparison with Catalonia

1.4 Business climate in the commerce sector. Comparison with Catalonia

1.5 Business climate in the hotels and restaurants sector. Comparison with Catalonia

1.6 Business climate for the other services sector. Comparison with Catalonia

2.1 Factors limiting business performance across the whole economy. Comparison with Catalonia and Spain

2.2 Factors limiting business performance across in the industrial sector. Comparison with Catalonia

2.3 Factors limiting business performance in the construction sector. Comparison with Catalonia

2.4 Factors limiting business performance across the commerce sector. Comparison with Catalonia

2.5 Factors limiting business performance in the hotels and restaurants sector. Comparison with Catalonia

2.6 Factors limiting business performance across the other services sectors. Comparison with Catalonia

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5. Methodology Appendix

Sectors in the Business Climate Survey

Industry

01: Food, beverages and tobacco (CCAE 2009: 10 to 12)

02: Textiles, clothing, leather and footwear (CCAE 2009: 13 to 15)

03: Industries related to wood and cork, paper and printing (CCAE-2009: 16 to 18)

04: Chemical industry, rubber and other non-metallic minerals (CCAE-2009: 20 to 23)

05: Metallurgy and manufacture of metal products (CCAE 2009: 24 and 25)

06: Manufacture of machinery and mechanical equipment, and electrical computer, electronic and optical products (CCAE-2009: 26 to 28)

07: Other industries (CCAE 2009: 05 to 09, 19, 29, 33, 35 and 39)

Construction

Section F of CCAE 2009 is considered complete, meaning divisions:

41: Construction of buildings

42: Construction of civil engineering works

43: Specialized construction activities

Commerce and trade

01: Retail trade of food products, beverages and tobacco specialized premises (CCAE-2009: 472)

02: Retail trade of household goods, recreational and cultural products in specialized premises (CCAE-2009: 475 and 476)

03: Other types of retail trade (CCAE 2009: 473, 474, 477, 478, 479)

04: Retail trade in non-specialized stores (CCAE 2009: 471)

05: Sale and repair of motor vehicles and motorcycles (CCAE 2009: 45)

06: Wholesale trade and other intermediaries (CCAE 2009: 46)

Hotels and restaurants

CCAE 2009: 55 and 56

55: Lodging Services

56: Food and Beverage Services

Other services

01: Information and communication (CCAE 2009: 58 to 63)

02: Legal and accounting activities (CCAE 2009: 69)

03: R & D, advertising and market research and scientific and technical activities (CCAE-2009: 71 to 75)

04: Administrative and support service activities (CCAE 2009: 77 to 82)

05: Other services (CCAE 2009: 49 to 53, 64 to 66, 68, 92, 93 and 96)

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THE MOBILE ECOSYSTEM IN BARCELONA AND CATALONIABarcelona Chamber of Commerce’s Economic and Infrastructure Studies Department

1. Introduction

The telecommunications industry has undergone a major transformation over the last decade. In this process, the mobile industry plays a key role in driving the industry forward at a previously unseen speed and this is causing changes in the way people communicate and do business, and even in the way we live.

Indeed, we have entered a stage where mobile telephony will have a pro-found impact on the way people interact, not just between themselves, but also with the environment. As such, integrated mobile devices will revolutionize healthcare sectors (through the remote monitoring of pa-tients), transport (through the smart management of destinations and transport networks), utility services such as water or electricity (thanks to smart grids and meters) and electronics (where each device can be-nefit from mobile connections). In addition, the tsunami of smart mobile devices (smartphones and tablets) seems to indicate the way forward in the short run for a new type of paradigm of personal and corporate com-puting model, that rather than replacing the previous one, this will add on a new key component: user availability anytime, anywhere.

Within this framework and with the overall experience of organising the Mobile World Congress since 2006, Barcelona has been designated the first Mobile World Capital until 2018 by GSMA. Thanks to this project, Barcelona wants to harness the potential of economic development re-lated to the mobile phone industry by creating a cutting edge cluster in Catalonia and in particular in Barcelona and its metropolitan area. This commitment should bring about a new ecosystem in the city with the de-velopment of transversal services related to the mobile industry and the growth of a new industry around mobility; it should also position Barcelo-na as a key platform for global solutions.

Given this backdrop, this report focuses on the characteristics of the so-called mobile ecosystem in Barcelona and Catalonia at the moment to identify the basis of future growth prospects and positioning potential, whilst taking into account key global trends and industry figures that cha-racterize the worldwide industry.

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2. Defining the mobile ecosystemDespite the growing importance of the mobile industry worldwide, it is still difficult to find an exact, precise and agreed definition of what the sector consists of.

The latest report by the OECD about telecommunications (OECD Commu-nications Outlook 2011) makes constant references to the mobile sector wit-hout clearly defining the elements that characterize it or the companies that make it up. However, a reading of the report shows that they unders-tand the mobile sector only in terms of mobile telephony (meaning, telep-hone operators) without considering other sectors that also form a part of it, like application developers or equipment manufacturers. The Commis-sion for the Telecommunications Market in Spain uses the same criteria and only considers the mobile sector from the point of view of operators, in other words, the same definition as the Statistical Classification of Econo-mic Activities in the European Community (NACE), which defines the sector as 6120. Wireless telecommunications. Yet this is corseting the magnitude of the economic impact that the emerging uses of mobile devices can ge-nerate amongst those sectors that are most directly associated with this business.

On the other hand, however, the European Cluster Observatory has begun to define and mark out the limits of the new mobile cluster in Europe, defining mobility as:[...] having access and the ability to use information and communications services independently of locations [...]

And along similar lines, from the perspective of telecommunications:Mobility is access to personal communication and information technology environments, regardless of device access technology.

But also:Mobility is the ability to send and receive data and information from and to mobile objects.

Therefore, it is evident there is difficulty in defining this industry, one which is crucial to the future of telecommunications worldwide. Never-theless, in order to analyze the wider industry, the mobile sector can be divided into three levels and related subsectors:

Level 1. The mobile telephony sector in its more traditional sense. This means operators or providers of communications services.

Level 2. Satellite sectors of mobile telephony. These are sectors that have developed and grown around the mobile phone sector. Examples include applications for mobiles and other software, the manufacturing of devi-ces, content development for smart devices, etc

Level 3. Technology sectors: these are technology enablers for the deve-lopment of mobile telephony in its widest sense (development of wireless technologies, geographic location information systems etc).

Sectors that are drivers: these can act as engines for the industry and as mobile technology consumers (financial sector, retail sector, leisure and tourism, the public administration, etc).

The GSMA association (Groupe Spéciale Mobile Association), which not only represents the interests of mobile operators worldwide, but also those of more than 200 companies in the field of telephone manufacturing, softwa-re companies, equipment providers, Internet companies, and media and entertainment organizations, has been a pioneer in defining what it calls the mobile ecosystem.

This report aims to define, identify, measure and analyze the so-called mobile ecosystem in Catalonia and Barcelona from the main information sources available1. The following two figures represent the overall mobile ecosystem (that goes beyond the strict sense of the mobile sector) as un-derstood for the purpose of this analysis.

MobileTelephony

(operators)

Apps storeand other

programming

Infrastructuredevelopment

Technologysectors

Drivingsectors

Contentdevelopment Device

manufacturing

Source: Observatory

1. For example, a service survey carried out annually by Idescat and INE called the Barometer of the Catalan Technology Sector, produced annually by Cercle Tecnològic de Catalunya, and Sistema de Balanços Ibèrics (SABI), which includes financial statements and key data from Spanish and Portuguese companies.

Figure 1. Definition of subsectors that make up the mobile ecosystem

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2611 Manufacture of electrònics components

2612 Manufacture of coupled printed circuit boards

2620 Manufacture of computers and peripherals

2630 Manufacture of telecommunications equipment

2640 Manufacturing of consumer electronics

5821 Edition of video games

5829 Edition of software, except video games

6010 Radio broadcasting

6020 Programming and broadcasting activities for TV

6100 Telecommunications

6201 Computer Programming Activities

6202 Consultancy activities in the area of Information technology

6203 Management of computing facilities

6209 Other services related to information technology

6311 Data processing, hosting and related activities

6312 Web portals

6391 News agency activities

6399 Other information services

9511 Repair of computers and peripherals

9512 Repair of communication devices

2611 Manufacture of electronic components

2612 Manufacture of coupled printed circuit boards

2630 Manufacture of telecomunicacions equipment

2651 Manufacture of instruments and appliances for measuring, verification and navigation

5821 Edition of video games

5829 Edition of software, except games

6201 Computer Programming activities

6202 Information Technology consultancy

6190 Other telecommunications activities

6311 Data processing, hosting and related activities

6312 Web portals

6399 Other information services

6110 Cable telecommunications

6120 Wireless telecommunications

6130 Satellite telecommunications

6190 Other telecommunications activities

6120 Wireless telecommunications

ICT Sector Telecommunications Sector Mobile Sector Sector related to the Mobile sector

Mobile ecosystem

Source: OCDE Communications Outlook 2011, Barometer of communication in Catalonia 2012, Service Survey of Catalonia (INE and Idescat), Central Business Directory (INE), Registrations with Social Security and SABI. Prepared by the Barcelona Chamber of Commerce’s Economic and Infrastructure Studies Department from different definitions of the ICT sector, the telecommunications and mobile sectors of the OCDE, Commission for the TelecommunicationsMarket, and GSMA.

Figure 2. Definition of the ICT sector, Telecommunications and the mobile

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Supply Indicators Spain Average OECD countries

Revenue from telecommunications (in millions of U.S. Dollars) 58,007 1,158,978

Telecommunications sector revenues as a % of GDP 3.96% 2.81%

Revenue from mobile telephony sector (in millions of U.S. Dollars) 20,074 526,655

Mobile revenues as a % of total Telecommunications revenue 34.61% 45.44%

Public investment in telecommunications (as % of revenue in the sector) 10.20% 15.10%

Per capita public investment in telecommunications (In U.S. dollars) 129.3 143.2

Telecommunications Patents 1999-2007 (American Patent Office) 516 88,022

Telecommunications Patents 1999-2007 (European Patent Office) 152 100,069

Demand Indicators Spain Average OECD countries

Spending on telecommunications by families (% of household disposable income)1 2.8% 2.7%

Number of subscriptions for broadband 21.3 23.1

% of households with broadband 57.4% 61.0%

Number of mobile phones per 100 inhabitants 111.2 102.6

Penetration level of smartphones2 (% of smartphones of all mobile phones) 51.1% 44.0%

% of population with access to 3G phones (2011)3 60.0% 51.0%

% of population using 3G technology via their phones actively (2011)3 23.1% 21.0%

3. World telecommunications and mobile facts and figures

In OECD countries, the telecommunications sector generated revenues of nearly 1,160,000 million dollars in 2009, representing 2.8% of GDP (see Table 1).

Voice services continue to represent the largest revenue source in the sector, despite the falling prices of calls. In 2000, revenues from mo-bile phones accounted for 24% of total telecommunications revenues. Ten years later, that percentage more than doubled and now accounts for almost 50% of revenues in the sector. Specifically, in 2009 there were 13 OECD countries where the mobile markets were bigger than landli-ne markets. As such, mobile services have provided the main source of growth for the telecommunications industry in recent years.

The telecommunications industry is also a very significant investor. In fact, the average for OECD countries shows they investment approxima-tely 15% of incomes.

The mobile sector generated revenues of almost 527,000 million dollars in OECD countries in 2009 (about 420,000 million Euros) after multiplying turnover by 2.9 in a decade.

Also, according to the latest figures from the European Mobile Industry Ob-servatory, promoted by GSMA Association, by the year 2011, the mobile industry generated 174,000 million Euros in European Union countries, representing about 1% of the zone´s GDP.

According to the same source, the mobile industry’s contribution to the European economy goes beyond direct revenues generated by mobile telephone operators (MTO). The entire mobile industry ecosystem in the European Union generates about 1.7 million jobs (22% of which are di-rect, with the rest indirect jobs) and it also provides around 83,000 million Euros to the public treasuries of all European Union countries, of which 65,000 million come directly from MTOs.

So, the mobile phone industry is now a key industry in Europe, compara-ble in size to the aerospace industry (with estimated revenues of around 147,000 million Euros) and even larger than the pharmaceutical and bio-technology industry (95,000 million Euros).

Table 1. Main indicators in telecommunications and mobile sectors. 2009

Source: OCDE Communications Outlook 2011, ComScore, Wireless, Wireless Intelligence (Economist Intelligence Unit), European Commission 1Data for EU27 2Data for UE5 (France, Germany, Italy, Great Britain and Spain) 3Average for 30 European countries

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Today, moreover, mobile services are available everywhere, reaching almost 100% population coverage rates and with a penetration rate of 128% in Europe (compared to 100% in Japan and 104% in the US), accor-ding to GSMA data. This means, therefore, there are 656 million individual subscriptions (measured by the number of active SIM cards).

Adding to this already revealing information, we see another phenome-non that is clearly transforming the sector, especially over the last two years: the emergence and popularity of so-called smartphones. In ad-dition, as penetration rates increased, there has been an increase in in-vestment in mobile applications, which in turn has spurred on the use of these applications by users. The emergence of smartphones, therefore, has created a true multiplier effect for the industry because it channels both the supply and demand of mobile services.

It’s worth noting that Spain is among the countries that lead indicators related to demand for telecommunications. There has been a particularly strong penetration rate for smartphones, which account for 51% of mobi-le phones, and the number of mobile phones per 100 inhabitants (111.2, and an OECD average of 102.6), the population with access to 3G phones and actively use this technology (60% and 23.1% in Spain, respectively, while the weighted average of 30 European countries is 51% and 21%).

The telecommunications sector in Spain generated revenues of more than 58,000 million dollars in 2009, which makes it the third largest co-untry in turnover in the Euro zone, only led by Germany and France. The weighting of telecommunications in Spain´s overall GDP (4%) means it is 1.2 percentage points above the OECD average, only beaten by Estonia, Korea and Portugal. On the other hand, mobile telephony in Spain gene-rates revenues of more than 20,000 million dollars, which puts it among the top four countries in the Euro area, more than doubling the turnover of the rest of countries in this field. However, the weight of mobile telep-hone revenues as a percentage of total mobile telecommunications reve-nue in Spain (34.6%) is lower than the OECD average (45.5%).

Regarding employment in telecommunications companies in recent years (2007-2009), there has been a slowdown in growth (according to OECD data), given that the recession has accelerated certain ongoing consolidation processes in the industry. For example, France Télécom and Deutsche Telekom merged in 2010 in Britain and formed a joint ven-ture that has reduced the number of mobile network operators in the country. The employment data of large telecommunications companies worldwide (OECD and non-OECD countries) show that employment has remained relatively stable over the years 2008-2009, while it increased 8% from 2007 to 2008. However, it should be noted that employment in telecommunications networks, their construction and maintenance are

Germany 30,139 84,167 2.53 35.8

Françe 26,460 73,894 2.79 35.8

Italiy 24,583 47,083 2.23 52.2

Spain 20,074 58,007 3.96 34.6

Holland 9,240 19,669 2.48 47.0

Greece 6,022 10,840 3.35 55.6

Bèelgium 5,701 13,421 2.85 42.5

Austria 4,564 7,058 1.85 64.7

Portugal 4,199 10,514 4.52 39.9

Finland 2,917 5,624 2,36 51.9

Source: OECD Communications Outlook,2011

often subcontractated2, and this partly explains the trends in employment in the sector in some countries. At the end of 2010, the three largest te-lecommunications companies in terms of workers were China Telecom, ATT, and Telefónica (with 312,520, 272,450 and 261,649 employees, res-pectively).

Overall, the mobile telephone sector still has a long way to go and, in all likelihood, in a very short period of time, it will experience a profound transformation, both in terms of business model, users, operators and other stakeholders.

Table 2. Euro Zone countries with the highest turnovers in mobiletelecommunications sector. 2009.

% % income M $ Mobile Telecom. Telecom. mobile telecom /GDP sector

2. Whereas before the construction and operation of a new mobile phone network was carried out by direct employees of a telecommunications service operator, yet now it is performed by an equipment manufacturer.

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Global trends

• In 2009, OECD countries had more than 285 million subscribers to bro-adband, representing growth of around 40% in just a decade.

• The structure of spending on telecommunications services has changed, reflecting the extent of mobile phone usage in society. People with high in-come were the first to adopt the new wireless technologies, but in 2009 the percentage of people on low incomes with access to mobile phones was already above 50%.

• On the other hand, younger generations have been clearly leading the process of change in the mobile industry and the transition from fixed to mobile telephony. In 2009 the under 26s spent more than 85% of their tele-communications spending on mobile telephony, while those over 75 years spent just 25%.

• At the same time, there has been a profound transformation in the sector´s business model, the relationships between operators, service pro-viders and customers as better services and lower prices have been broug-ht in.

• In OECD countries in 2010, there were more than 2,000 million access routes to communications, 63% of which corresponded to mobiles.

• According to data from the OECD, between 2000 and 2009 the incomes of the top 100 companies worldwide in the telecommunications sector experi-enced annual growth rates of 8% and 12% in terms of net profit.

• The spectrum of mobile phone uses has clearly expanded from simple voice calls to a wide range of multimedia activities:

• The sector has weathered two economic recessions relatively well over the last decade, thanks mainly to the so-called new broadband generation. Nevertheless, it was not until consumers became a driving force behind the growth in broadband popularity that there was a transition to new busi-ness models in the telecommunications sector.

• Mobile telephone operators are not letting the opportunities and cha-llenges that new generation broadband represents slip away. This is most evident when we look at the strong growth in applications for mobiles over the past two years.

• With regard to Spain, as in other countries, the main use of mobile pho-nes is mainly for telephone calls (calls made and received). In 2009, most mobile users (about 90%) used their mobile for this activity, and over 80% did so on a daily basis.

• On the other hand, in Spain, the percentage of individuals receiving or sending SMSs has increased from 75% to 85% of mobile users in the last four years. Besides the phenomenon of SMSs, since 2005 there have been other important changes in the relationship between users and mobile de-vices. Two out of three users use their phone as a camera, whereas that figure was just one in five at the start of 2005. In addition, one out of every two mobile users now use Bluetooth technology, compared to less than one in ten in 2005. A significant number of mobile users also send videos (38%) or multimedia messages (32%).

• The main challenges now is to understand what the effects will be of mo-bile telephony subsector development on the different value chains. Spe-cifically, what effect it will have on operators’ advertising revenues, and if, as the trends seem to point to, advertising will move from television to the Internet, either via telephones, tablets or computers.

2007 2008 2009

2.500

2.000

1.500

1.000

500

0

Source: OECD CommunicationsOutlook 2011

Figure 1. Evolution of network access in the OECD Millions of subscribers and access routes. 1997-2009.

200620031997 1998 1999 2000 2001 2002 2004 2005

Cable television ISDN

423.827.4

1,256.8

82.8167.731.7

ADSLFibre optics

Mobile telephony Analogical

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4. Telecommunications and the mobile ecosystem in Catalonia and Barcelona

An analysis by sector, as shown below, includes a dual approach, one from the perspective of the supply side and the other from the demand side. In terms of supply, a macro analysis of telecommunications service provider, and the mobile ecosystem in Catalonia and Barcelona has been carried out analyzing the key performance indicators that describe the sector, like the number of firms, the degree of concentration, number of jobs and turnover.

An analysis of demand shows who the main stakeholder consumers could be and, ultimately, which stakeholders will drive the mobile sector forward. In this regard, we can highlight sectors like banking or health-care, as the main consumers, and not just individuals, but also the public administration, as a high-demand user of the sorts of services that new mobile telephony can offer both to the administration itself and the final consumer in terms of users of services provided by the public sector.

4.1. Supply-side analysisThe Barometer of the technology sector in Catalonia, prepared annually by Cercle Tecnològic de Catalunya (CTecno) once again shows that the Catalan technology sector has a huge capacity for innovation, based mainly on its professional talent and expertise regarding this technology. In addition, the sector faces new and clear growth opportunities in specific sectors like the mobile and mobility area, smart cities, the so-called Internet of things or the cloud. To develop these sectors, experts say there needs to be larger projects than the current ones being developed and that public-private co-llaboration will be the key.

Thus, according to the Barometer, the ICT sector in Catalonia turned over around 12,000 million Euros in 2010, representing 15.2% of the total in Spain. Of this amount, 51% corresponds to the telecommunications sectorand 32% to the information technology sector. Manufacturing accounted for only 16.3% and software barely reached 1% of turnover.

If you look at the number of firms or jobs, however, the most important subsector is information technology, which represents almost 80% of com-panies and 67% of employment in the ICT sector in Catalonia.

In 2011, Catalonia had a total of 787 companies in the telecommunications sector employing about 9,500 people and generating a turnover of 5,500 million Euros.

With a relatively small number of companies, Catalonia’s telecommuni-cations sector generates most of ICT turnover, employing almost 9,500

workers in 2011.

Catalonia generated 13.5% of the turnover in this sector in Spain, but one should bear in mind that the location of the headquarters of the large ope-rators are in the Community of Madrid, like Telefónica, Vodafone-España and France-Télécom España (Orange) in the wireless subsector, which means that part of the revenues generated in other regions are registered in the Community of Madrid. Moreover, Catalonia plays host to 15.2% of all companies and 10% of all workers in Spain in this sector.

Table 3. Key figures in the telecommunications sector in Catalonia and Barcelona1, 2011.

Source: Estimations from Barcelona Chamber of Commerce’s Department of Economic and Infrastruc-ture Studies based on Spain´s SABI records, membership with the Social Security and the Idescat Survey and the Barometer of the technology sector in Catalonia. 1NACE sectors contained in the table, according to the main activity reported by the SABI report: 6110, 6120, 6130, 6190.

Absolute numbers

Barcelona city 326 6,342 4,244

Barcelona province 630 8,456 5,088

Catalonia 787 9,415 5,453

Spain 5,175 93.766 40,360

Weight in relation to the next highest territory

Bcn city / Bcn province 51.7% 75.0% 83.4%

Bcn province / Catalonia 80.1% 89,8% 93.3%

Catalonia / Spain 15.2% 10,0% 13.5%

Number of companies

Numberof workers

Business turnover ME

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Figure 3. The telecommunications sector in Catalonia1

2011. Weight of each sub sector over the total for telecommunications

Number of companies

85.2%

7.8%

5.1% 1.9%

Number of workers

68.7%2.6%

24.3%

4.5%

Business turnoveru

43.4%

1.6%

47.2%

7.9%

Source: Observatory calculation from SABI records.1NACE sectors included in the chart: 6110, 6120, 6130, 6190.

Telecommunications by cable

Wireless telecommunications

Telecommunications by satellite

Other Telecommunications activities

Table 4. Main facts and figures of the mobile ecosystem in Catalonia and Barcelona1 2011

Source: Estimations from Barcelona Chamber of Commerce’s Department of Economic and Infrastruc-ture Studies based on Spain´s SABI records, membership with the Social Security and the Idescat Survey and the Barometer of the technology sector in Catalonia. 1NACE sectors contained in the table, according to the main activity reported by the SABI report: 6120 and all the auxiliary ecosystem: 2611, 2612, 2630, 2651, 5821, 5829, 6201, 6202, 6190, 6311, 6312, 6399.

Absolute numbers

Barcelona city 1,058 20,628 3,236

Barcelona province 1,997 35,438 5,077

Catalonia 2,342 39,408 5,399

Spain 9,891 249,864 59,528

Weight in relation to the next highest territory

Bcn ciutat / Bcn province 53.0% 58.2% 63.7%

Bcn province / Catalonia 85.3% 89.9% 94.0%

Catalonia / Spain 23.7% 15.8% 9.1%

Number of companies

Numberof workers

Business turnover ME

The telecommunications sector in Catalonia is clearly clustered in the Bar-celona area, with 80% of all companies in the region and 90% of workers. In particular, Barcelona accounts for half of the companies in the province (51.7%) and three quarters of workers (75%) and 83.4% of the turnover of companies in the sector in this province. The dominant subsector in terms of turnover is wireless telecommunications, which accounts for more al-most half of the sector (47.2%), while the subsector made up by other telecommunication activities has most companies and workers (85.2% and 68.7%, respectively).

Moreover, considering the mobile ecosystem as a whole, Catalonia acco-unts for around a quarter (24%) of all companies in Spain, almost 16% of jobs, and 9.1% of all turnover. It is important to remember that informa-tion sources only show activity where the headquarters of a company is located, without showing the breakdown of the regional impact of other production centres.

Figure 4. Geographical distribution of the mobile ecosystem in Spain1 2011. Weight over Spanish total

Source: Observatory calculation from SABI records.1NACE Sectors contained in the table, according to the main activity SABI activities: 6120 and the entire ecosystem: 2611, 2612, 2630, 2651, 5821, 5829, 6201, 6202, 6190, 6311, 6312, 6399.

76.7%

56,5%

32.5%

9.1%Sales volume

Numberof companies

Workers

15.8%

23.7%

14.2%

27.8%

43.8%

Catalonia C of Madrid Rest of Spain

80% 90% 100%60%30%0% 10% 20% 40% 50% 70%

The mobile and mobility sectors do not just present clear growth oppor-tunities, but they can also act as drivers for other sectors that can be directly linked to them.

According to data available for 2011, the mobile ecosystem in Catalonia includes around 2,400 companies employing about 39,500 people and ge-nerating a turnover of close to 5,400 million Euros. In a similar fashion to what is happening in the telecommunications field, the mobile ecosystem in Catalonia is almost entirely located in the Barcelona area, which plays host to 85% of all companies and 90% of workers, accounting for 94% of turnover.

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Those sectors linked to wireless telecommunications, although not in an exclusive way, that go to make up the mobile ecosystem can benefit directly from growth in the sector as shown in figure 5. Of all these sec-tors, the most important in terms of number of companies, employment, and turnover generated, is the field of consulting activities in information technology, which represents more than 29% of companies in the mobile ecosystem, employing 32% of workers, and generating one third of all turnover.

Two other areas that are also relevant, although to a lesser extent com-pared to consulting activities, are computer programming and other tele-communication activities. Overall, these two subsectors account for 40% of companies in the mobile phone ecosystem, providing employment for 34% of workers, and providing 22% of turnover.

Figure 5. Structure of the mobile ecosystem in Catalonia1

2011. Weighting of each sub sector over the total mobile ecosystem

Number of companies

28.9%

6.0%4.5%

Number of workers

3.6%

31.9%

5.7%

Business turnover

12.4% 4.1%

32.6%

Source: Observatory analysis from Spain’s SABI records.

In the industrial sector, the manufacturing of instruments and devices for measuring, testing and navigation, which can include anything from sensor production to satellite navigation systems for GPS, along with the manufacturing of electronic components, the most representative sector in the mobile ecosystem. These two industrial sectors together repre-sent a little over 10% of companies, employing 12% of workers and ge-nerating 16% of turnover.

Moreover, in the structure of the mobile ecosystem, wireless telecom-munications, which is the most mobile area, accounts for 9% of turnover, 4% of workers and 1% of companies.

4.2. Demand-side analysisThe growth and consolidation of the mobile sector and its related sectors depend heavily on the existence of powerful sectors that can drive busi-ness. And these sectors are in certain business areas, the public sector and also in terms of the actual users of mobiles.

Since international trends determine the aforesaid, growth in the mobile sector over the last two years is due to the appearance of, and especia-lly, the wider use of so-called smartphones and tablets by the general population.

Spain is well above the European average in terms of mobile phone subs-criptions, with around 23 million, of which 51% are now smartphones. It is precisely this type of device that has allowed the emergence of a new industry related to mobile telephony, and for the moment, it is pro-bably the sector with the best growth outlook. This is the field of appli-cations for mobile phones, and its performance is going from strength to strength. At the start of 2013, Apple´s App Store recorded more than 40,000 million app downloads, with 20,000 million in 2012. Meanwhile, in September 2012, the Google Play Store exceeded 25,000 million downlo-ads. The market, therefore, is in a growth stage. According to IT consul-tancy International Venture Consultants, estimates show that in 2014 the world market for mobile applications will be worth around 6,170 million Euros, which is more than double the current income of the sector. For Spain, the same consultants estimate revenues for 2014 of around 200 million Euros.

High market penetration rates for smartphone and tablets has opened a new opportunity for the mobile software

or apps sector

Moreover, according to the Commission for the Telecommunications Market, in the province of Barcelona there were 4,047,976 post paid mobile phone contracts in 2010, representing a penetration rate of 73.5%, well above the

Manufacture of instruments and measuring, testing and navigation appliances

Manufacture of electronic components

Other telecommunications activities

Wireless telecommunications

Computer programming activities

Information Technology consulting activities

Data processing, hosting and other activities

Web portals

Other information services

Other related sectors

13.5%

0.8%

25.8%

3.5%

3.0% 9.7%

4.2%

6.4%

4.0%

11.4%

22.8%

2.1% 7.4%

4.8%

8.4%

9.1%

14.3%

10.9%

1.0%3.8% 3.5%

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Spanish average (which is 66.9%). The high penetration rate of mobile pho-nes, along with the high penetration of smartphones, makes Barcelona and its citizens an ecosystem that can act as a driver of demand for applications for mobile phones, and therefore generate a mobile phone cluster (especially for apps).

This is a trend, then, that the Catalan sector can take advantage of. Today, Barcelona is well positioned on the starting grid of a market that is booming and with lots of competition, yet even so there is a lot still left to do and Bar-celona, as the permanent capital of the Mobile World Congress until 2018, has an open opportunity to lay the foundation of this sector.

In addition, global trends also point to some clear areas that can act as spe-cific drivers of the mobile ecosystem itself. These are sectors that have a sig-nificant importance to Barcelona and Catalonia as a whole, which in some cases become benchmarks internationally in their respective fields. In the first wave of market growth for applications and given their importance in the local economy, sectors that can become drivers of growth include: banking, tourism, healthcare services for citizens and the public administration.

The sectors of banking, tourism, healthcare and services for citizensare those that are positioned as drivers of the mobile ecosystem and

estimates show they will double their income in less than a year

1. Banking: despite the current economic situation of the industry and Spa-nish banks, investment in technology and systems in this sector have not fa-llen. In fact, the financial sector is moving its Internet banking to mobile pho-nes. 60% of the large Spanish banks already have a mobile portal, and this is expected to reach almost 90% in 2012. 10% of the Spanish population already uses smartphones to access their accounts through mobile phones and 5.2% make payments through an electronic device, which are higher percentages than the European average and the most advanced countries in the field of telecommunications, for example, Great Britain.

Banking via mobile phone means banks can offer all their available services on their web pages, send bank movement alerts and even offer custom loan. Improvements in both payment possibilities and the safety that mobile ban-king offers will generate synergies in other sectors that can grow through mobile phones such as electronic commerce, which is relatively consolidated on the Internet, but at a much earlier stage with regard to mobile devices.

2. Tourism: As stated in the European Cluster Observatory, the tourism sector is one of those sectors that can clearly act as a driver of mobile telephony and applications. The emergence of mobile technology has brought about a revolution in terms of how consumers choose their hotels, flights, and reser-ve bookings and get in touch with other travellers. Now all this is as simple as pressing a button. The impact of mobile phones on the tourism sector is

clear: three out of four travellers use a mobile device while travelling. 17% looked for a trip through a mobile application or a website for phones, 12% have downloaded a mobile application related to travel, 75% of travellers that are smartphone users connect to a Wi-Fi in an airport to view details of their flight, boarding times, or queue times at the security gate. Today anyone with an advanced phone (smartphone) has numerous applications that can faci-litate aspects such as transportation, culture and leisure in a particular city.

Given the importance of tourism to the city of Barcelona, this is a field that is, a priori, a huge opportunity. In fact the big mobile applications stores al-ready have numerous guides in different languages about Barcelona as well as extensive applications with geo-localized entertainment (such as bars or restaurants), cultural attractions or other sites in the city.

3. Health: mobile applications for improving healthcare and wellbeing are a trend that has grown exponentially over the last year. According to current projections, the sector is expected to grow by 800% up to 2013, and that by 2015 medical applications for mobile devices will be used by 500 million pe-ople worldwide. Mobile applications for healthcare include a wide range of users that is very diverse, from pharmaceutical companies, medical mate-rial suppliers, medical consultants from the healthcare industry, or doctors, patients and government organizations. The new market for mobile medical applications, which already accounts for more than 6,000 applications, has been created in just over two years. Today, the number of physicians using smartphones has increased to 72% and the figure is expected to reach 82% in 2012. This last figure is significant because it is estimated that 95% of doc-tors who have smartphones use medical applications.

4. Citizen services: mobility, therefore, is a reality in our society, and peo-ple use it as a personal communication tool, and also as a professional tool, thanks to companies that have begun to invest in innovation that can get the-ir business information anywhere, anytime in order to improve the producti-vity of their workers. In the case of the public administration, this change in mobility allows it to offer two main categories of service:

- Citizen-oriented services that improve any interaction with the admi-nistration, and care services via SMS alerts and text messages, basic requests for information from the municipality, or finding local special needs groups.

- Civil servant services oriented at public employees to increase their productivity, management applications for inspectors, municipal sup-port services (transport, waste, etc) and support for public healthcare professionals.

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Mobile technology thus allows for the “reinvention” of the relationship between government and citizens, improving the efficiency and effective-ness of services provided to citizens, and even adding new services and new inter actions. And it is from this new relationship between citizens and the public sector that the new model of a smart city is born. The smart city, then, must be able to process and communicate information, able to learn and anticipate and react to the behaviour of citizens.

Barcelona has already begun work to implement ICTs on the ground in order to supply the city with an infrastructure that guarantees sustaina-ble development and a better quality of life. For the moment, it is being tested in 22@, focusing on 5 areas related to smart cities: the environ-ment, mobility and transportation, sustainable energy, and public-private partnerships and quality of life, culture and knowledge. The project, na-med Smart City Campus, is a testing space in 22@ for innovative solutions for companies wanting to work in any of these areas.

But it has to be understood that a smart city is not only used to ensure that large companies generate business, but that it has an impact with real improvements for citizens and that it promotes projects in compani-es, clusters and local innovation systems. Therefore, a key challenge for cities is to incorporate private initiatives representing a public value, so that they solve problems that currently need resolving from the point of view of the management of infrastructure and facilities which, in the end, serve the public.

5. Barcelona´s mobile ecosystem: future challenges and opportunitiesFaced with the challenge of making Barcelona an international bench-mark mobile ecosystem, it is important to know the current position of the city in the telecommunications sector and the global economy. As such, the report includes two synthetic benchmark indicators that can contribute to understanding the intensity of effort necessary to achieve objectives within a reasonable time frame, which is up to 2020.

First, we have an indicator showing the quality of telecommunications, which Cushman & Wakefield publish annually in the European Cities Mo-nitor survey on the perception of senior European executives. In 2011, the city of Barcelona was ranked number 20 in the ranking led by London, Pa-ris and Frankfurt. It should be remembered, however, that Barcelona´s position has been fluctuating over the last decade between 13th and 21st

place, and so far, always some positions below Europe´s top ten.

Secondly, an indicator showing global appeal from the Benchmarking Glo-bal City Competitiveness Report published by the Economist Intelligence Unit’s Hot Spots research has been included, which analyzes the compe-

Source: Cushman & Wakefield European Cities Monitor. Various years

Figure 6. The best European cities in terms of the quality of their telecommunica-tions. Evolution of Barcelona’s positioning

20112010200720042001 2002 2003 2005 2006 20092008

18

15

13

15

19

14

20

15

21

19

13

10

12

14

16

18

20

22

titiveness of 120 major cities in the world. According to the report, Bar-celona ranked 41st in the overall rankings based on eight factors, one of which is global appeal, and on this factor Barcelona was ranked 9th in the world, which values the presence of renowned international institutions in the city (businesses, universities, business schools and think-tanks) and its international orientation (quantified in terms of frequency of in-ternational flights and the organisation of international conventions and conferences).

As a consequence, and as an overall evaluation, the conclusion is that Barcelona is well placed in the world to “make things happen”, as shown by the fact it occupies a place in the top ten of the global attractiveness ranking or the strength of commitment formalized by such a relevant international player as GSMA with their Mobile World Capital located in Barcelona until 2018. In addition, although it is clear that a huge effort is required to reach critical mass quickly to become visible at the European and global scale, Barcelona’s mobile ecosystem and its projects have a promising starting point, from which they could become one of the stra-tegic sectors of the local economy by 2020.

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In this sense, the data points to the emergence of a mobile industry and others that are related, directly or not, right here on our doorstep in our local environment. This growth trend is strengthened daily by news that the sector is generating new projects and new investments specifically related to Barcelona, and this despite the recession. In the medium andlong term, anything that is related to mobiles will undoubtedly be a driver of growth. In addition, it is an area where business models can be quickly scaled up and easily internationalized. However, despite strong evidence and good prospects, as pointed out in this report, there are still a lot of challenges that must be addressed in order to consolidate a benchmark mobile ecosystem in our country.

Score (over 100) Ranking CityLondonParisTokyoSingaporeBeijingHong KongAmsterdamNew YorkBarcelonaViennaWashingtonMadridSeoulBerlinBostonTorontoZurichSydneyTaipeiCopenhagen

123456789

1011121314151617181919

65,164,844,443,241,537,736,335,733,833,332,732,330,630,327,226,826,125,524,824,8

Table 6. Global appeal of the top 120 cities in the world. 2011

Source: The Economist Intelligence Unit, Hot spots - Benchmarking global city competitiveness 2012

Source: Cushman & Wakefield, European Cities Monitor 2011

Ranking 2011Ranking 2010 CityLondonParisFrankfurtStockholmMunichBerlinAmsterdamHelsinkiBrusselsZurichMadridManchesterHamburgBirminghamDüsseldorfGenevaLeedsCopenhagenGlasgowBarcelonaOsloLyonMilanViennaEdinburghDublinBratislavaRomeMoscowWarsawIstanbulLisbonAthensPragueBudapestBucharest

12345678

1113

99

181512132019241527221724242133233330362730353029

123456789

101112131315161717192021212124252527282929313133343434

Table 5. The best European cities for the quality of their telecommunications2010 and 2011

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By intensifying the institutional momentum started in the 90s, Barcelo-na has made a commitment to become a city with smart infrastructure and services that facilitate the development of a knowledge economy and where ICTs play a key role in business competitiveness. The two most visible aspects upholding this strategy are being the capital of the mobile world and the application of the smart cities concept. The degree of suc-cess of these two initiatives will largely depend on the scale (global, regi-onal or local) that Barcelona can aspire to in terms of being a benchmarkcentre with its corresponding economic impact in each case.

To start with, Barcelona is looking to go beyond just the congress dimen-sion of the Mobile World Capital, but rather leading the definition of as-pects like corporate governance or businesses’ involvement in the pro-ject, and ensuring from the beginning that this designation will leave a legacy in this city from the production and industrial point of view.

GSMA estimates that since 2006, when it began to organize its Mobile World Congress in Barcelona, this event has had an impact on the local economy worth 1,500 million Euros. But the various initiatives related to being Mobile World Capital has extra knock-on impacts estimated for the period at 3,500 million Euros, of which 300 million correspond to the first year.

To manage the programmes and projects that form part of the project, the authorities have set up Fundació Barcelona Mobile World Capital with five founding sponsors: Barcelona City Council, the Autonomous Regio-nal Government of Catalonia (Generalitat), the Ministry of Industry, Ener-gy and Tourism, Fira de Barcelona (city trade fair), and GSMA itself.

The project will include four areas of activity:• Mobile World Congress, • the Mobile World Hub or industrial legacy project, which is the most far reaching dimension for the city,• Mobile World Festival, • Mobile World Centre, which has a social and civic orientation,

In short, the industrial legacy project includes developing a new industry around the area of mobility and the transformation of Barcelona into a global technology benchmark city with the following vision:

- To promote Barcelona as a global mobile hub, based on i. The production and design of mobile solutions. ii. The deployment of mobile solutions to improve the quality of life for citizens. iii. The creation of unique business initiatives, training and services aimed at other cities.

- Position Barcelona worldwide as a technology centre with high added value services, adding attributes normally associated with brand Barcelona.

- Develop high-tech clusters.

Thus, promoting Barcelona as Mobile World Hub includes creating a business space where an industrial project could be developed around mobile communications. This business space is key to adding all the ot-her capabilities for developing Barcelona´s mobility plan, focusing on six strategic actions (M-Program, M-Law, M-News, M-Talent, M-Entrepre-neurship and M-Cluster). One of these, the M-Program is intended to be a catalyst for an innovative, multi-sector initiatives with a socioeconomic impact, based on a commitment from all relevant stakeholders in the local ecosystem, both public and private. So far, this action programme includes five areas: m-Wallet, m-Smart City, m-Health, m-Contents, and m-Travel.

In fact, the key productive sectors for the region’s economy offer enor-mous potential for developing the local mobile ecosystem as drivers of demand. In general, these sectors are mature, but their consumers’ ha-bits are evolving, so there is an immediate incentive for more intensive technological applications (for example, in the case of tourism, new pro-motion or travel guide systems and personalized travel experiences) and these represent a real opportunity for the sector. In addition, as a result, this would also mean a major boost for the economy of Barcelona and Catalonia.

On the other hand, smart cities are increasingly on the political and ci-tizen agenda. Barcelona has made an effort in this area, reaching agre-ements with large companies (such as Cisco Systems, Schneider Elec-tric, Telefónica, Indra, Abertis Telecom, Agbar and NXP) to become an international testing ground, and it is one of the cities that is leading this change throughout the world. Technologies around smart cities also have scalability and a capacity for relatively fast internationalization (though not as much as the mobile phone), and it is convenient to keep concentrating resources here to offer solutions for creating smart cities around the world.

In terms of being a pioneering initiative, Barcelona’s commitment in this regard is the City Protocol, designed as a certification system for cities in the information society, given the growing importance of new technolo-gies and their impact on urban transformation. The protocol involves the measurement of the degree of efficiency and quality of a city, based on indicators that assess aspects like structural, functional, metabolic and social conditions in the short, medium and long term. This City Protocol promotes the incorporation of leading cities, companies and knowledge

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centres in urban development and transformation, with the objective of creating a global assessment standard to help define future models, pro-posals, projects and solutions.

Other important initiatives that also aim to encourage the development of a local mobile ecosystem include some of the 30 measures proposed by the so-called Barcelona Growth Commission to revive the economy. These include implementing a free trade business district in Barcelona’s 22@, offering all sorts of incentives (including tax benefits) to companies with entrepreneurial and innovative projects that develop or apply new business models using mobile phone technology. It also aims to crea-te an annual labour market to connect start-ups and other high growth potential city-based companies with highly qualified talent. Or upgrade the levels of economic promotion and business cooperation with cross-landing and collaboration agreements with major cities around the world (starting with New York, San Francisco, Boston, Cape Town, Sao Paulo, Shanghai and Berlin). Overall, expected results include attractingtalent and new initiatives to create future employment and a commit-ment to give something back to the city.

Finally, we can highlight some concrete initiatives that have already been launched in the city since 2012:

On the one hand, the City Council is encouraging the wide-scale de-ployment of mobile contactless payment technology in Barcelona. In the first phase, before Near Field Communication (NFC) terminals become mainstream, payment can be made through Tap and Go cards, which is the name of this project being led by the City Council, along with La Cai-xa, Telefónica and Indra. This will be implemented across the whole city in just over three years. The system, based on NFC technology, allows for fast contactless payments that are comfortable and safe, which ensures personal identification for making payments, accessing information and services, and making use of ATMs in a more accessible way.

Likewise, Barcelona City Council has launched the so-called MES go-vernment (Mobility, E-Government and Smart Cities) to take advanta-ge of open data in the OpenDataBCN project and it has announced an APPS:Apps4bcn competition to reward the most innovative applications that clearly help to create or improve services in Barcelona for people, businesses, entrepreneurs and administrations. In addition, the govern-ment has approved another measure to promote the mobile applications industry in Barcelona with regular editions of the so-called Bcn APPS Jam competition on specific thematic areas, with the participation of different stakeholders in the city (Barcelona Digital Foundation, Barce-lona Activa, Universities ...), for prototype designs that can be the basis for later models developed for products or services developed on mobile platforms.

Overall, and in a global environment in which mobile technology is a source of growth for the telecommunications sector and the wider eco-nomy, Barcelona´s designation as Mobile World Capital until 2018 is a strategic opportunity to position the city as an international benchmark in the field of technology. Given the economic dimension of the mobile ecosystem in Barcelona and Catalonia, its current development projects -especially in terms of creating an industrial legacy and the application of smart city concepts-, together with the overall attractiveness of city, means the potential is there to make this one of the strategic sectors for the local economy in 2020.

Bibliography and sources consulted:

Documents consulted:- Baròmetre del sector tecnològic a Catalunya 2012. Cercle Tecnològic de Catalunya (CTecno). 2012.- 2012 Mobile Future in focus. Key insights from 2011 and what they mean for the coming year. ComScore. Febrer 2012.- OECD Communications Outlook 2011. OECD. Juny 2011.- Estudio de mercado del sector de aplicaciones móviles en España. IVC International Venture Consultants. Abril 2012.- La movilidad en la administración pública. Tempos 21, Innovación en Aplicaciones móviles. Juny 2011.- Tech Cities Ranking 2012. Buck Consultants International. Març 2012.- El sector empresarial de les TIC a Catalunya 2009. I2TIC, UOC, Secretaria de Telecomunicacions de la Generalitat i FOBSIC (Fundació Observatori per la Societat de la Informació de Catalunya). Abril 2010.- Clusters in the Mobility Industry. European Cluster Observatory. Desembre 2010.- European Mobile Industry Observatory 2011. GSMA. Novembre 2011.- European Cities Monitor. Cushman and Wakefield. Diversos anys.- Hot spots - Benchmarking global city competitiveness, 2012. The Economist Intelligence Unit.

Sources consulted:- Institut d’Estadística de Catalunya.- Instituto Nacional de Estadística.- OECD Database.- Eurostat.- Sistema de Análisis de Balances Ibéricos (SABI).- Comisión del Mercado de las Telecomunicaciones.