Economy, Tax, Economic Promotion and Tourism

Created in 1991 by the Full Council of Barcelona City Council, the Barcelona Municipal Institute of Markets was set up with broad consensus, both among municipal political groups and traders. Its board of directors is made up of representatives of the market traders, the political parties and the municipal government.

Designed to be an autonomous body for the direct management and administration of the municipal markets, the IMMB is under the supervision of Barcelona City Council with regard to the approval of byelaws, appointing people to posts, opening and closing markets and approving large-scale works projects.

The IMMB has two fundamental tools for modernising the markets: the new Municipal Byelaw and the new management models. A modernisation plan that entails improving the Market Service, maintenance of the commercial quota, diversity management and standardising the regulation of trade.

So, the IMMB's work is focused on 3 areas: improving infrastructure and services, updating the commercial offer and introducing policies to promote trade, all while incorporating an approach to management that calls for a new market model for the 21st century, the adaptation of the markets to their environment and the renewed role of markets in building community.

Mercabarna is a "food city" open 24 hours a day to guarantee access to food for everyone.

The Zona Franca industrial and logistics area is home to the city's wholesale markets (fruit and vegetables, fish and seafood and the Biomarket) and around 600 companies that specialise in the distribution, production, import and export of fresh and frozen products. A few kilometres away, in Sant Boi de Llobregat, is Mercabarna-flor, the wholesale market for flowers, plants and accessories. 

In this regard, the companies in the Mercabarna complex serve as an important channel for local agricultural, fish and livestock products, and, at the same time, are the main suppliers of the municipal markets, neighbourhood shops, small and medium-sized supermarkets and the restaurant and catering sector (HORECA).

As well as ensuring the smooth running of the food chain, Mercabarna’s business strategy is informed by social responsibility, environmental sustainability and transparency criteria.

The Municipal Tax Office is a local autonomous body that has its own legal personality, full legal capacity to act and autonomy of management for the fulfilment of its purposes.

It is attached to the Budget and Finance Department of Barcelona City Council, and its purpose is the management, collection and inspection of taxes, public-sector charges, fines and other public law revenues of the City Council, its autonomous bodies and other public entities, when entrusted to do so.

The Municipal Tax Office was created by agreement of the Full Council of Barcelona City Council on 27 April 1990, under the name of the Institut Municipal de Recaptació de Barcelona. The Full Council of Barcelona City Council approved the new name of ‘Barcelona Municipal Tax Office’ and the modification of its articles of association on 29 November 1995. Finally, in accordance with the Act on Measures for the Modernisation of Local Government, on 14 October 2005 the Municipal Full Council approved the articles of association establishing it as a local autonomous body.

Barcelona Activa is a local development agency whose mission is to contribute to improving people's quality of life, promoting the economic competitiveness of the city and re-balancing the geographic regions by fostering quality employment, boosting entrepreneurship and supporting a plural, diverse and sustainable business network from an economic, social and environmental perspective. Its main aim is to make Barcelona an international leader in employment, entrepreneurship and living with social and environmental values.

In carrying out its activities, its reference framework is based on the Barcelona Green Deal economic agenda, the new municipal strategy for reviving the city's economy, with the priorities of retaining and training talent, facilitating economic activity and attracting more and better investments; and the PAM, the extraordinary Municipal Action Plan in response to the pandemic, which covers the 2020-2023 period.

Furthermore, economic and productive activity in Barcelona is diversifying its offer in strategic activity sectors, both emerging and consolidated, which act as drivers of the economy and generators of innovation and employment, establishing Barcelona as an international leader in this regard. In this regard, Barcelona Activa focuses on boosting the following sectors considered to be strategic:

• Digital economy
• Creative and cultural industries
• Health and bio, Sport (sportstech) and Food (foodtech)
• Industry 4.0
• Blue economy and green economy
• Local economy
• Visitor economy
• Retail and hospitality

Informació i Comunicació de Barcelona, SA is a private municipal company responsible for the direct management of Barcelona's public television, radio, website and social media. 

It is fully owned by Barcelona City Council and it is governed by its articles of association, organisational and operational regulations and all other rules and regulations which apply to it. 

betevé, through the ICB, is a media organisation attached to the Xarxa Audiovisual Local (Local Audiovisual Network, or XAL) and the Coordinadora de Televisions Públiques Locals de Catalunya (Coordinator of Local Public Television in Catalonia).

The company's governing bodies are:

• The Full Council of Barcelona City Council, which acts as the shareholder meeting.
• The Board of Directors, which is responsible for the management and administration of the company.
• The director, who has executive responsibility for managing the public service.
   

Also, in accordance with the provisions of Act 22/2005 of 29 December on Audiovisual Communication in Catalonia, the following was created:

• The betevé Advisory Council which is responsible for ensuring social and political participation in the management of the service.
   

The Consorci Turisme de Barcelona (Barcelona Tourism Consortium) was set up in 1993 by Barcelona City Council, the Official Chamber of Commerce, Industry and Shipping and the Fundació Barcelona Promoció (Barcelona Promotion Foundation). 

The mission of the Barcelona Tourism Consortium is to project, boost and position Barcelona as an international tourism destination by promoting knowledge of its culture and unique aspects based on an added value offer and in accordance with the segmentation of target markets and interests.  

In its mission, Turisme de Barcelona acts as a facilitator to ensure the success of the visitor economy through the projection of an aspirational and transformative destination whose values enable people to live and coexist in an environment that is bursting with life and at the same time sustainable, responsible and committed to the criteria of the Sustainable Development Goals. At the same time, it reinforces the city brand and favours dynamism and the tangible and intangible return generated by visitors. 

All with the aim of ensuring that the visitor economy will benefit all city residents and the economy of the city and its area of influence.

• It works to build up the destination's international reputation in accordance with the Barcelona brand.
• It helps the international public enjoy the destination to the fullest.
• It attracts leading events to generate economic activity, boost productive sectors and create wellbeing. 
• As the facilitator, it helps to grow businesses in line with new trends. 

Fira de Barcelona is a public consortium with independent, private management. Founded in 1932, it is made up of Barcelona City Council, the Government of Catalonia, and the Chamber of Commerce and Shipping of Barcelona.

Fira is an economic and social driver and one of the best platforms for business, commercial promotion, the industrial fabric, the international reach of companies, knowledge exchange and talent attraction. Each year it organises and attracts events that are international leaders in their specialities (food, technology, health, fashion, the car industry, industrial production, etc.). It also engages in innovation in order to expand its trade fairs and create events to meet the new social and business demands, and helps companies to enter new markets by co-organising trade fairs in different countries.

One of Fira’s chief hallmarks is its support for the productive sectors, and for professionals and entrepreneurs, as well as its commitment to innovation, technological development, and excellence in its service.

It has two large venues with a combined total of 400,000 m² in exhibition area, making it among the largest trade fair sites in Europe, and it offers exhibitors, organisers and visitors all the resources of a modern and efficient institution.
Starting in November 2021, Fira also manages the Barcelona International Convention Centre (CCIB), which with its 100.000 m² of floorspace and over 100 annual events will allow the institution to strengthen its competitiveness and international positioning and carry out a comprehensive management of the three leading trade show venues in the city.

Localret is a local consortium created for local Catalan government institutions to work together in a coordinated way on developing telecommunication networks and services and on the application of ICTs to improve the work of local government in terms of promoting the Information Society.

Its role is to make the voices of the municipalities heard in the spheres where decisions are made on the organisation of infrastructure and telecommunication services, as well as in everything affecting the deployment and use of new Information and Communication Technologies (ICTs). Its mission is also to provide services and offer advice to local authorities when it comes to preparing and implementing local policies for the development of the knowledge society and in the deployment of ICTs in the region and for the general public. The uses and benefits of new technologies need to be accessible throughout the area and to all people in order to prevent the digital divide.

There are currently more than 850 local authorities in Localret, and since it was created in 1997 it has also had the support of the two Catalan municipal entities: FMC (Federation of Municipalities of Catalonia) and the ACM (Catalan Association of Municipalities and Counties).

Localret champions the interests of Catalan local authorities and is constantly seeking collaboration and cooperation with other public institutions and private initiatives in order to achieve their shared objectives.

Mobile World Capital Barcelona drives the mobile and digital transformation of society and helps to improve the lives of people around the world.

With public and private support from Barcelona, Catalonia and Spain, MWCapital focuses its activity in four areas: acceleration of innovation through digital entrepreneurship; transformation of industry through digital technology; digital talent growth among new generations and professionals; and reflection on the impact of technology on our society.

MWCapital hosts the Mobile World Congress and organises 4YFN, the business platform for the start-up community.
 

The Fundació Carles Pi i Sunyer d’estudis autonòmics i locals (Carles Pi i Sunyer Foundation for Regional and Local Studies), created in 1986, is a centre for analysis and research on local government and public administration policies.

It is a space for studying, researching and promoting knowledge in the field of local government and the autonomous communities. With the aim of making significant academic contributions, the Foundation combines internal research work with external research projects commissioned to people from different social science disciplines.
 

The Red de Juderías de España, Caminos de Sefarad (Network of Jewish Quarters in Spain, Paths of Sepharad) is an association made up of municipalities whose medieval quarters include the historical, artistic, environmental and cultural heritage of the Jewish communities that once inhabited them. 

Its members work together to preserve this Jewish legacy and historical heritage, promoting cultural, tourist and academic projects and sharing national and international experiences that contribute to knowledge of, and mutual respect for, peoples, cultures and traditions. 

For the past 20 years, the cities of Ávila, Barcelona, Béjar, Cáceres, Calahorra, Córdoba, Estella-Lizarra, Hervás, Jaén, León, Lorca, Lucena, Monforte de Lemos, Plasencia, Ribadavia, Sagunt, Segóvia, Tarazona, Toledo, Tuleda and Tui have been recovering their Jewish quarters, investing time and resources in restoring houses and other buildings that can be saved from oblivion and the rediscovering the stories of the lives of Jewish families of all backgrounds. A hidden history, revealed after five hundred years, and now recovered. 

The Red de Juderías, in each of the respective cities, has been working intensely to highlight their material and immaterial heritage, stepping up conservation, signposting and restoration efforts. Several initiatives have been carried out in these quarters to promote them among local residents and attract new visitors. 

In line with its founding goals, the Red de Juderías is also working internationally, especially in terms of promoting Jewish heritage as a binding and living element between Spain and the world, and also on creating a unique, living and attractive tourist experience for all kinds of visitors through culture and history. Participation in major tourist fairs and events, the organisation of exhibitions and forums and agreements with cultural institutions in Spain and elsewhere are some of the association's areas of work. 

Founded in 1994, the International Association of Educating Cities (IAEC) is a non-profit association, constituted as a permanent collaborative structure uniting local governments committed to the Charter of Educating Cities, which is the road map of the member cities. Any local government that accepts this commitment can become an active member of the Association, regardless of its administrative powers. At the close of the 2019 financial year, the Association has around 494 member cities in 36 countries on all continents.

In Educating Cities, education,  understood as life-long education that permeates the different spheres of city residents’ lives, a tool for social transformation. 
Likewise, education is a central tool in the city project. It is a political commitment that entails an awareness that municipal policies and initiatives transmit knowledge and educate people, intentionally or unintentionally, in certain values and attitudes.

The Educating City also involves network governance which is based on cross-cutting action among municipal departments and on dialogue and collaboration between the municipal government and civil society, with the aim of mobilising and coordinating as many local educational agents as possible.

To carry out its objectives, the International Association of Educating Cities organises various activities: seminars, congresses and workshops, training for local elected representatives and specialists, study visits, publications and materials that show the educating power of cities, personalised advice and assistance, drafting of documents and manifestos, dialogue with national and international authorities, etc.