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Ian Livesey highlights collective mobility as a key factor in tourism planning within Catalonia
2 July 2026
The management of tourism flows and their impact on everyday mobility was one of the key concepts brought to the table by Ian Livesey, B2B and B2C Director at Moventis, at the 2nd edition of ‘Catalonia, investment destination’ organised by El Confidencial. He specifically took part in a round table discussion entitled ‘Tourism, mobility and economic development in Catalonia’.

The event, which took place on 30 June in partnership with Moventia, provided a backdrop for dialogue on investment, competitiveness and economic development in Catalonia. Ian Livesey took part in this dialogue alongside José Antonio Donaire, Commissioner for Sustainable Tourism at Barcelona City Council, and Choni Fernández, Head of Operations and Sustainable Innovation at PortAventura, with moderation provided by the speaker, Esther Cid.

“Barcelona should not be analysed solely in terms of mass tourism, but also as a major hub in Europe for visitors from the Americas, Asia and the Middle East”, said Ian Livesey at the event. In this regard, he underlined the role of collective transport in reducing pressure on the city and improving cohabitation between visitors and residents. “One bus does not collapse the city; quite the opposite, it can move 55 or 60 people around at once”, he said.

During the round table discussion, the expert also said that value-added tourism needs well planned mobility from the major points of arrival, airports, train stations and ports through to hotels, leisure centres and complementary destinations. He went on to explain that the key lies in organising how they arrive, how they get about and how they are spread across the region.

Planning and a regional perspective

While taking part in this forum, which was held at Portal de l’Eixample in Barcelona, Ian Livesey also highlighted the public-private partnerships that exist between authorities, transport operators and tourism operators. In this regard, he underlined a relationship based on constant communication, planning and a practical perspective on real mobility requirements in which the operators can provide their knowledge on demand, adaptability and direct experience on the daily operation of these services.

The representative from Moventis believes that mobility is a decisive tool for connecting the Catalan capital with other destinations and tourism hubs in the region, especially within a context where the company operates throughout Catalonia.

“It is not a question of attracting more tourists but rather distributing them better across time and across the region”, he said. Looking ahead to 2030, he identified two priorities: deseasonalising and better organising already existing assets so that tourism is perceived as a source of wealth, employment and development rather than a burden on the local public.

This was an essential forum for debating and reflecting on ideas and key challenges that was attended by institutional representatives from the Regional Government of Catalonia and Barcelona City Council, as well as such other entities as Cercle d’Economia, Pimec, Tech Barcelona, Área Metropolitana de Barcelona and Aigües de Sabadell, and such companies as Banco Sabadell, CaixaBank and Meridia Capital.