The Tourist Apartment Association Costa Brava-Girona Pyrenees (ATA) is the association representing this sector in the Girona region. We were founded on 8 June 1993, and legally established as a fully private and non-profit association.In 2006, with the aim of grouping together and serving the various companies that make up this sector throughout Catalonia, the ATA, together with the Tourist Apartment Association of Barcelona (Apartur) and the Tourist Apartment Association of Tarragona (AT) we agreed to establish one single federation entity representing the tourist apartment sector in the region.This gave rise to the Catalan Tourist Apartment Federation.In 2013, given the need to structure the sector on the basis of shared goals, giving a voice and voting rights to Spanish associations while serving as interlocutor with public and private authorities and other entities, the Spanish Federation FEVITUR was set up, and now groups together 13 Spanish associations, representing some 125,000 apartments.
Our members are companies and owners providing the greatest legally compliant offering of apartments and villas in the province: overall, more than 10,000 apartment and villa units for tourist rentals, distributed throughout the Costa Brava, Inland and Pyrenees areas of Girona.
Our association comprises agents and owners of Properties for Tourist Use (designated as 'HUT') and/or blocks of Tourist Apartments (or 'AT'). Our members enjoy the firm support of the Costa Brava-Girona Pyrenees Tourism Board and the Catalan Tourism Board for their offering of legally compliant apartments and villas tourist rentals on the Costa Brava and the Inland and Pyrenees areas of Girona.They all work day by day to offer their customers the very finest services, based above all on criteria of quality and sustainability.
The initiatives undertaken, such as the establishment of new operational strategies, are governed by the Executive Board, comprising a team of professionals with extensive experience in the sector, with a range of working committees that meet monthly so as to run the ATA.
Below is set out the list of members of the current Executive Board and their functions:
Jointly, with one shared goal, the workforce of the ATA develop their initiatives and serve the members' needs.
Our aims at the ATA are to promote the development of Girona's apartment sector and extend the following aspects:
1. Protection and defence of the interests of our members.2. Online and off-line usage and marketing.3. Institutional presence: representing members on the leading district, provincial, regional and national organisations. 4. Cohesion of the sector.5. Actions to improve legal compliance.6. Promotion of the introduction of quality systems within our sector, such as categorisation.7. Establishment of channels for dialogue and cooperation with public authorities regarding aspects connected with our companies.8. Generation of synergies among members.9. Promotion of the products of our members via the website and the publication of a corporate brochure; presence at national and international tourism trade fairs and workshops, and on official promotional bodies, such as municipal tourist offices and tourism promotion centres in Catalonia based in source markets.
In order to achieve optimal administration of the ATA, a governance structure comprising a number of separate bodies has been established:
The General Assembly, made up of all members of the ATA at their yearly gathering. Its tasks include, among others: election of the Executive Board that will run of the Association for an extendable period of four years, approval of budgets, debate of strategic operational approaches and specific initiatives proposed by the Board for the following year.
One of the key assets of the ATA is the personal service it offers members, to keep them up-to-date at all times.This response is provided by a team of professionals with the skills to handle our members' queries, and can be found in all the services offered:
With the aim of promoting specialisation, and so avoiding unfair and unlawful competition, a campaign against illegality has been set up, compiling the details provided by our members when they detect apartments and homes that have not been legally approved. The ATA passes the details on to the Directorate-General for Tourism, while we also collaborate with the Catalan Administrative Police by providing the details of non-legalised apartments, and malpractice by online companies and portals.
Meanwhile, we receive the support of most Tourist Offices, ensuring that they promote only properly legally compliant accommodation.
We take part in the generation of the Official Guide of Tourists Apartment Rental Companies in Catalonia.
We collaborate jointly to undertake oversight and control actions so as to guarantee the safety of our visitors.
We are members of the Governing Board of the Catalan Tourism Agency, which collaborated in drawing up the classification lines for our accommodation.
We are members of the Governing Board and Advisory Committee of the Costa Brava-Girona Pyrenees Tourism Board. Promoting jointly the compilation of occupancy data.
We arrange meetings with the Regional Government Delegation in Girona, and also with the Mossos d’Esquadra regional police force, to undertake specific oversight and control actions so as to guarantee the safety of our members' customers.
We convey to local councils the importance of the association in the progress and development of their towns as tourist destinations, and also for the proper application of legal compliance within their municipal regulations governing apartments and villas in the town.
At the ATA we provide advice as to the documentation required for any legal registration required of future association members. We likewise process all documentation affecting our members.
All ATA members are displayed on the association website and can be located by town, allowing interested parties to access all necessary contact information.Take note! Members can use the association website to upload all their products to the search engine to ensure they are visible. End customers can rent the apartment or villa.
Among the tasks performed by the ATA, promotion is one of the key elements. In this regard, the association has in place a range of communication channels helping members to reach out to their customers. The main means of promotion employed are:
The website www.apartmentsandvillasgirona.com , offers a whole host of options: Search engine for bookings (booking online and on request) and offers. Map of towns. Activities. Specific datasheet for each member, allowing companies to manage their details via the intranet, upload information, photos, videos, etc. There is also a direct link to the member's own website. Access to upload offers to the main home page.
Presence at national and international tourism workshops and trade fairs open to the consumer public. A report for members is drawn up setting out their evaluations and the contacts made at the trade fair, along with the extension of the database. There is likewise involvement in specific promotional initiatives for the benefit of members, and a presence on promotional ventures, workshops and fam trips. Information about the initiatives undertaken is subsequently distributed to all members to allow them to benefit, likewise providing them with a report on contacts made.
Publication of a corporate brochure. Present at official bodies and the basis of our internal promotion.
Advertising campaigns are staged each year by means of advertisements in the press, on radio, in tourism magazines and guides, online newspapers and through banners and links on related websites.
Generation of the Newsletter of Offers provided by members and sent out to the thousands of email addresses we have in our database, compiled at end customer trade fairs or from those individuals contacting the association and wishing to receive ongoing information about news, promotions and last-minute offers from our members.
Over the course of the year, together with external companies, we organise various activities, such as courses and talks, dealing specifically with issues affecting our members.
The ATA has since 2002 organised its biennial Symposiums with the aim of addressing the latest concerns and needs of members.These symposiums are intended for professionals and businesses in the tourism field in Girona, tourist accommodation, developers, builders, architects, and in particular our sector: apartments. The topics discussed are likewise of interest to technical staff, civil servants and political leaders at various public authorities connected with tourism in different forms, alongside teaching staff and students ofuniversities, business and tourism schools. Here is a list of our Symposiums:
8 November 2002, "ATA Symposium: The Financing of Tourist Towns".5 November 2004, “Second homes. A benefit or a burden of the Costa Brava?"26 October 2006 was the date of the 2nd National Tourist Apartment Convention in Lloret de Mar. This was the first nationwide convention organised by the ATA, addressing the issue of the existing boundaries between tourist apartments and second homes.6 November 2008, "What future do we want for tourist apartments?"2 November 2011, "Tourist Apartment Roadmap". 7 November 2013, "Illegal Competition and Rental Opportunities in the Recession".5 November 2015, "The Future of Apartments in Danger".
This idea is based on the two-way aim of strengthening business opportunities both for the companies involved and for ATA members. Discount vouchers for members and customers, special rates, etc. This service is continually being expanded, and to date numerous partnership agreements have been signed with companies and organisations in a range of sectors.
Beyond all these services, members receive constant information about all topics and innovations connected with the sector through regular information newsletters. In parallel, the annual report and the Association Press Dossier are drawn up, setting out all key aspects occurring during the year. These reports are handed out to members at the staging of the Annual General Assembly.
In order to join the ATA, there are three basic principles that must be fulfilled:
Once members have joined the ATA they have access to the support offered by an association committed to improving the protection and defence of the interests of its members through the association movement, so as to participate in decisions affecting the sector and encourage cohesion. Joining up means enjoying the services offered by the ATA, the support of the professionals on its technical team, access to specialist training and the latest information about all aspects affecting our sector.
We invite you to join our association, an association which will give you better positioning and more business in the tourism marketplace.
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