Frequently asked questions

Barcelona Provincial Council, through the province’s three tourism brands, Barcelona Coast, Barcelona Landscapes and Barcelona Pyrenees, has held the Biosphere Destination since 2017, a pioneering certification based on the 17 Sustainable Development Goals of the United Nations, integrated in the 2030 Agenda.

In 2018, Barcelona Provincial Council and the three tourism brands were awarded the Biosphere Gold certification for their work in promoting and supporting the industry towards sustainable tourism that is respectful and committed to the environment.

Eventually, in 2022, the certification was upgraded to the Biosphere Platinum category, which is acquired after passing an audit process and requires that, in addition to the Biosphere certification of the actual destination, the destination's companies, services and public bodies have been involved and have obtained the Biosphere Sustainable certification.

Thus, and thanks to this certification, companies, tourist services and public bodies located in the geographical area of the 12 counties of Barcelona can benefit from the Barcelona Region Biosphere Commitment to Sustainable Tourism programme.

How can I apply?

To start the procedure, you must carefully read the Regulations of the programme and contact the tourism management body in your region to validate the registration request and explain the steps to be followed.

Once this is done, you must access the Barcelona Provincial Council e-Office with idCAT Mobile, a personal digital certificate (idCAT, DNIe, FNMT, etc.) or Cl@ve, fill in the form corresponding to "Registration for joining the Biosphere Tourism programme" that you will find in the Tourism section, follow the instructions and attach the necessary documents:

• If you are a company: https://seuelectronica.diba.cat/tramits-ciutadania
• If you are a public body: https://seuelectronica.diba.cat/tramits-ens

This electronic processing is carried out in accordance with the provisions of Articles 14 and 16.4 of Law 39/2015 of 1 October on the common administrative procedure of public administrations and Article 25 of Law 26/ 2010 of 3 August on the legal and procedural framework of the public administrations of Catalonia.

Who can apply?

Any company or public body linked to the tourism industry that operates in the counties of Barcelona.

When can you apply?

You can contact us throughout the year using the specific form. We will contact you to inform you about the next membership period.

Which documents must be provided?

• Spanish ID card of the legal representative (only if you do not use an electronic certificate of legal representative)
• Declaration signed by the legal representative to authorise a third party to process the registration through the Barcelona Provincial Council e-Office (Download template)
• Tax ID card or Tax ID No. of the organisation or company (only in the case of opposing the consultation of interoperable services)
• SEPA direct debit order (for businesses only). It is not mandatory for companies that have the European Charter for Sustainable Tourism (CETS) distinction (Download template)
• Document certifying the distinction with the European Charter for Sustainable Tourism (CETS) (mandatory for fee exemption)
• Others

Once you have completed the registration form in the electronic office, a PDF document of the request is generated, which you must upload to your profile on the internal management platform http://cstdbb.cat.

In the first year, it is necessary to have two training sessions, the customised advice of the expert consultant, the regional destination workshop and the time that each organisation must allocate to comply with the requirements through the IT platform and draw up the Improvement Plan. The process usually lasts a few months; in any case, it does not exceed one year.

From the second year onwards (years of renewal of the label), it will be necessary to have bespoke training in sustainable tourism, customised advice from the expert consultant, attendance at the regional destination workshop and the time that each organisation must allocate to updating the requirements of the Biosphere platform and its Annual Improvement Plan.

Each member organisation is assigned a consultant, which will guide it in an individual and customised way through the membership process. The counselling session will review the sustainability requirements that your organisation must meet. At the end of the counselling session, the consultant will prepare a report on the requirements that have not been met so far, as well as other recommendations of interest.

The Destination Workshop is a working session that puts you in contact with other companies and organisations in the tourism industry within the counties of Barcelona in order to generate a network of knowledge, synergies and cooperation. We work on different topics of interest to improve the competitiveness of the destination through product creation and other workshops, benchmarking, etc.

The Improvement Plan records the requirements that your organisation must meet in order to maintain its Commitment membership. New improvements must be introduced in the Plan every year in order to achieve continuous improvement in terms of sustainability.

The consultant will check that your organisation has made the improvements specified to achieve the Commitment and will draw up the subsequent verification report, which will be presented to the Tourism Sustainability Board. The final step is validation by the Responsible Tourism Institute. Companies that have passed the whole process will receive the Biosphere Sustainable certification, whereas destinations that pass the process will receive the Sustainable Committed label.

The process of joining the Barcelona Region Biosphere Commitment to Sustainable Tourism will be supervised by the Tourism Sustainability Board, which, convened regularly by the county tourism management body, will oversee compliance with the commitments of the companies and services. The Tourism Sustainability Board will be made up of representatives of the different economic and social agents involved in the tourism activity in your region.

To obtain the seal, you must meet the minimum annual requirements:

• Formalise the membership
• Attend all annual training sessions
• Get the consultancy firm to carry out the counselling
• Comply with all mandatory requirements of the manual of best practices
• Participate in the County Destination Workshop
• Draw up an annual Improvement Plan

The manuals of best practices include the requirements that must be met and vary according to the tourism type and reality of your organisation. On the one hand, there are requirements that must be met in order to obtain the seal. On the other hand, there are requirements that are recommended but advisable in order to improve sustainability management in your organisation.
The areas on which the different requirements have been formulated are Climate Change, Environment, Social, Economy and Culture.

Joining the Commitment to Sustainability is not understood as an end, but as a path towards tourism sustainability.
Therefore, as long as the mandatory requirements are met, what is sought is continuous improvement through the implementation of an Annual Action Plan, always conditioned by the type, resources and idiosyncrasy of your organisation.

The label is renewed annually. In other words, organisations will have to complete the stages and fill in the appropriate documents each year in order to maintain the label. After this year, the renewal process involves new training and counselling sessions as well as the planning and implementation of a new improvement plan with new actions to be carried out throughout the year. Thus, year after year, the continuous improvement that is pursued with this process takes shape.

The fees for belonging to the Barcelona Region Biosphere Commitment to Sustainable Tourism are established annually as a public price by the Barcelona Provincial Council.

Unsubscribing from the programme does not exempt you from any outstanding fees.

• The annual fee for first membership is €70 + €14.70 (21% VAT), for a total of €84.70
• The annual first membership fee for companies/organisations with more than one venue/service under the same Tax ID No. is €105 + €22.05 (21% VAT), for a total of €127.05
• The annual membership renewal fee is €40 + €8.40 (21% VAT), for a total of €48.40
• The annual membership renewal fee for companies/organisations with more than one venue/service under the same Tax ID No. is €60 + €12.60 (21% VAT), for a total of €72.60
• Exempt fee for those companies/organisations that have the European Charter for Sustainable Tourism (ECST).

The Safe Travels stamp allows travellers to recognise, in any country of the world, companies, organisations and public services that have adopted standardised protocols of safety and prevention measures against COVID-19.

All companies, organisations and public services in the tourism industry and the visitor economy than can provide documentary proof of one of the following conditions are eligible for the stamp:

• Have the COVID-19 prevention measures certification or label awarded by an official certification company.
• Having been recognised with the Barcelona Region Biosphere Commitment to Sustainable Tourism programme after September 2020 or having obtained its renewal after that date.

The label is important for professionals and agents in the industry, as it is an internationally recognised credential that accredits the implementation of safety and prevention measures against the pandemic.

It is aimed at all tourism companies and organisations in Destination Barcelona and those related to visitors. The cost of the stamp is €25 plus VAT, but in the case of companies that are members of Barcelona Tourism, the cost is subsidised and covered by the Barcelona Tourism Consortium, as well as in the case of the Barcelona Provincial Council, which covers the cost of companies in the regions of Barcelona that are accredited with Biosphere Sustainable certification.

The list of companies with the Safe Travels stamp, classified according to type of activity, can be consulted at the following link.