As Catalonia moves on its journey into the millennium, tourism continues to boom and to dominate the economy -- it remains a hot, hot industry with yearly arrivals in Barcelona bypassing the 4.5-million mark and the Old City, at least in the summer, bustling with tour groups and buses.
Visitors from pre-1992, that pivotal year when Barcelona presented a new-and-improved city to the rest of the world at the Summer Olympics, sometimes barely recognize the place. After the gray years -- during which the Franco-dominated central government withheld much-needed funds for public infrastructure and let rows of characterless high-rise hotels blight the coastline -- Catalonia is no longer interested in the "lager lout" image. Although it's still possible to find bargains in rural areas and the coast, tourism of the $5-a-day variety is now a distant memory as prices have skyrocketed, especially since the introduction of the euro in 2002. The media have baptized Barcelona the coolest city in Europe with the city's restaurants, bars, shops, and hotels among the most cutting-edge on the Continent. But despite its chic image, Barcelona remains steeped in tradition, where history plays an important part in its fiestas (celebrations) as well as in everyday life.
If there is one fact you should have perfectly clear before arriving, it's that for an overwhelming majority of Catalans, their homeland is not Spain (in high season you may even be handed a leaflet or two telling you as much). Most locals consider themselves Catalan first and Spanish second, so bemoaning the lack of sangria and bullfights will only be met with the coldest of receptions. Historically robbed of its status as an independent nation, autonomy was returned to Catalonia via the 1978 Spanish constitution, and politicians have pretty much been at the negotiating table ever since, pushing for even greater self-rule. After more than 20 years as head of the Generalitat (Catalan Regional Government), the conservative Jordi Pujol lost to the socialist Pasqual Maragall (who served as mayor of Barcelona during the Olympic years) in 2003. In coalition with the left-wing ERC party (whose aim is total independence for Catalonia), Maragall has been accused of placing more emotive issues of a nationalist nature before policy-making. In 2006, José Montilla replaced Maragall as president of Catalonia. In that same year Catalonia, which contributes more to the central government's coffers than any other region, was rewarded when an estatut (statute) -- approved by Spain's governing PSOE socialist party -- gave it greater autonomous powers than ever before.
Immigration is now the region's biggest challenge. Apart from Spanish and Latin communities, Catalonia remained a monocultural society for centuries before the current wave of immigration. Immigrants now make up 5% of the total population of just over six million, reaching 50% in some inner-Barcelona pockets. Providing a good education, emphasizing religious tolerance, regulating the foreign workforce, and the immersion of Catalan language and culture are all now high on the agenda, amid a backdrop of hysterical cries from the right that the latter will be lost if Catalonia is to absorb any more foreigners.
Immigrants are essential, however, for Catalonia's primary industry. South Americans and North Africans are now employed in the vast acres of vineyards, olive groves, and other agrarian pursuits. Secondary industry sectors include chemical, car, and textile manufacturing, with a mushrooming technology sector attracting foreign investment and start-ups. Tourism employs a huge number of temporary workers during the summer, but unemployment still hovers, as it does in the rest of the country, at around 10%.
