Barcelona apuesta por consolidarse como referente en turismo sostenible

Durante la celebración de la Noche del Turismo, el alcalde ha destacado que hay que trabajar para mantener el liderazgo turístico promoviendo la propia identidad y diversificando la oferta de la ciudad.

Durante el 2013 visitaron Barcelona 7,5 millones de personas, se produjeron más de 16 millones de pernoctaciones hoteleras y 2,5 millones de cruceristas llegaron al puerto de la ciudad. Todo ello convierte Barcelona en la quinta destinación turística de Europa y avala la capacidad de atracción que tiene la ciudad, así como la importancia del sector en momentos de crisis. Unos datos que el alcalde Xavier Trias ha puesto en valor durante la celebración de la XIX Noche del Turismo, organizada por la Asociación Catalana de Periodistas y Escritores de Economía y Turismo (ACPETUR).

Meeting the huge demands on industrial packaging – smaller carbon footprint, sustainable, minimal resource input but still strength

Electricity and resources are becoming more expensive and the shortage of freight capacity is pushing up the cost of transport. So how can high-grade packages be marketed under these difficult conditions without appreciable price rises? The manufacturers of industrial packages are showing that this is possible – by using low-cost recycled materials, participating in the development of logistics strategies and generating their own renewable energy.

Manufacturers of industrial packages are being hit particularly hard by price rises resulting, in part, from rising energy costs. Their containers, pallets, technical components and work-piece carriers are usually made of plastics. Although they are light and robust, a lot of energy is required for the injection-moulding of plastics packages. Furthermore, the manufacturers need granulate for this, which is in big demand and no longer available in limitless quantities.

“In the long term, this not only means increases in the price of all load carriers, but availability will also become a crucial factor sooner or later,” says Udo Schwabe, marketing manager of the German branch of the Swiss Utz Group, a container specialist. Rising transport costs are exacerbating the situation. The problem is that large industrial packages on their way to the customer by trucks and train take up a good deal of space. “In this situation, cost savings are pretty much out of the question,” Schwabe claims.