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Every day the world presents you with hundreds of headlines. What do you believe? Who do you trust? The Financial Times cuts through complexity with clarity, accuracy and global perspective. Its journalism is guided by independence, not agendas. That's why leaders in business, policy and culture turn to one trusted source for facts, for insight, for what matters next. Source FT Read more and subscribe@ft.com you're.
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Listening to the Monocle Daily, first broadcast.
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On 2 December 2025 on Monocle Radio.
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Ukraine is not at the table. Is it on the menu? China takes a very close interest in imminent Indian missile tests. And has the Internet liberated us from the ritual mutual obligations of the Christmas card? I'm Andrew Muller, the Monocle Daily. Start now. Hello and welcome to the Monocle Daily. Coming to you from our studios here at Midori House in London. I'm Andrew Muller. My guests Marion Mesmer and Somnath Batabile will discuss the day's big stories and we'll hear from Monocle's team at the international luxury travel market in Cannes. Stay tuned. All that and more coming up right here on the Monocle Daily.
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Foreign.
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This is the Monocle Daily. I'm Andrew Muller and I am joined today by Dr. Marion Mesmer, Senior Research Fellow in International Security at Chatham House and by Somnath Batabial, Lecturer in Media in Development and International Journalism's at soas. Hello to you both.
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B
Hello. Hello.
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C
Hello, Somnath. Your first appearance on the Daily for a while. Things are afoot though, in both print and on screen.
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B
It is, yes, you know, Red river, my latest novel is coming out in the UK and the US next year. The deal has finally been signed at the Jaipur Lit Fest in June. Crime Beat, a TV series based on my first novel, the Price youe Pay, is out now. And it's amazing though I did not very much as a writer, never likes a TV show, but the kind of numbers of people who watch it and get back is interesting because I've never in 20 years of writing that kind of response. I mean, I got a message from the production house saying 50 million watch minutes in the first month. I mean, I don't know what watch minutes mean.
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C
It sounds like a lot lot.
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B
Right, so that's one.
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So.
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Which has resulted in a film writing deal which I'm at the moment writing on a story based in London. The first time I'm attempting London in fiction.
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C
Well, that's all very exciting and we will of course talk more about Red river when it becomes more generally available because I've Had a copy for ages. This international deal has taken forever.
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B
For a while. It took 13 years to write.
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C
As I suspect I don't need to tell you, Marion, you have recently returned from Brussels where you have been having conversations germane to what we are about to discuss, that is Ukraine.
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Yeah, unfortunately, a lot less, you know, interesting and fun, as the book and the TV show and movie sound like. But, yeah, I was at a really interesting meeting of basically my counterparts from across Europe where we tried to figure out what is Europe's actual strategic position at the moment. What more can we do to support Ukraine? What happens if it turns out that the US really has switched sides and is very closely allied with Russia now, or at the very least does not care very much about European security? And the meeting was obviously a mixed bag. I think for me, one of the few positives I drew from it is that the European strategic position is looking a lot better. There's a lot that has happened in terms of military developments, as we've obviously discussed on and off on the daily as well over the last few years. But importantly, the military balance between Europe and Russia is looking as if it's actually in Europe's favor at the moment because Russia has been losing a lot of kit, losing a lot of people and so on, whereas Europeans are beginning to see the fruits of their investment. But on the flip side, because the US repositioning itself is such a monumental shift, a lot of European leaders seem to be feeling very low confidence. And so in that sense, it almost doesn't matter that the military balance might be shifting, because if they're not going to project that confidence vis a vis Russia, then that has a huge impact on deterrence anyway.
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C
Well, we will now elaborate on some of those themes because we're going to start in Moscow, where Russian President Vladimir Putin is hosting an American delegation led by US President Donald Trump's fellow New York City real estate buccaneer Steve Witkoff and US President Donald Trump's son in law, Jared Kushner. They are further discussing a plan for peace between Ukraine and Russia. Alert observers will have noticed that Ukrainian delegates are conspicuous by their absence. Ukrainian President Volodymyr Zelenskyy, doubtless still hoping to keep the United onside, is being restrained in voicing outright objections to the plan, saying some things, quote, still need to be worked out. Which is indeed one way of putting it. Somnath. First of all, President Zelenskyy is today in Dublin. He's been addressing the Doyle. He emphasises that he's keen on Peace. But he emphasises that it must be what he called a just peace. We know what his preference would be, which is the perfectly reasonable one, that Russia knocks this nonsense off, packs up and goes. That seems unlikely. What then do we think he means by a just peace?
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B
Giving away as less land as possible, perhaps at this point of time. I mean, he's in a hard place. I think just following on what he said, Marianne, is that Europe is suddenly realizing that their biggest guarantor of NATO and their worst enemy have probably signed up to some kind of a pact which they are out of. And that really changes global rail politic. And how will you now adjust to this new world? While I mean, I do not know about how the current military situation is, Europe has underspent for decades and therefore they find themselves in the situation that they are in. So on one hand there's already conversation between the US and Russia about post war trade deals. You see a kind of immense change from the 1970s to this world order and it'll take a lot of time for us to get adjusted to it. What can Zelensky hope that President Trump doesn't completely sell Ukraine out and that the European powers with the new military might be able to stand by Ukraine.
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C
Some of Putin's remarks today, Marion, do sort of go to what you were saying earlier about Europe's attitude. He said that he doesn't want. This is Putin speaking earlier. He doesn't want a war with Europe, but he said if Europe wants to fight, we are ready right now. To which my follow up question would be, are they really? Because Russia is only today making the disputed claim that it has taken Pokrovsk in Ukraine. This is after nearly four years of war. Four years in which they have not really advanced much beyond what they had in 2014.
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Yeah, I mean, the difficulty is that a war between Russia and NATO would look a bit different to a war between Russia and Ukraine. And there is quite a bit of Russian military stock that they've essentially not had to touch for the war effort in Ukraine because they're not useful or they're different kind of systems. And of course because in NATO, even without the US you have two other nuclear powers. So there would be a concern that a war between Russia and NATO could end up at least a limited nuclear level at some point. But at the same time there is a lot of kit that Russia would want to use against NATO that it essentially hasn't got anymore. That's in a really bad state. So according to some projections, Russia is going to run out of useful tanks by some point in 2026, and they would presumably want to use tanks against NATO as well. So in some ways, Putin's words are posturing because that is the posture that he's going to project. But at the same time, I think we need to right size our expectations of Russian strength and European strength. But I don't want us to underestimate Russia either. I don't think anyone needs to be reckless or get into another war. But my real worry here is that because unfortunately, Trump and Putin both seem to deal exclusively in great power politics, it's very easy for a state like Ukraine or a state like Poland to be forgotten about, when actually, I think we have several decades of evidence that these are very real players on the international stage that ought to be taken seriously. And unfortunately for Europe, they're having to very seriously relearn the lesson that one of the ways how you can project force is indeed through military force, which is really uncomfortable and I wish we weren't in that position, but I think leaders are essentially adjusting to that world and trying to figure out how they can use military signalling to their advantage.
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Somnath, to return to the plan that is allegedly being considered in Moscow, do we fundamentally think it is actually going to go anywhere? Because the original plan did read very much like a Russian wish list. It wasn't clear what Russia was really being expected to concede. Is it sort of, I guess, is it overtly bleak to think almost that this is all a charade, that this plan is designed to fail so the United States can say if Ukraine, well, we tried and they're not interested, so we're walking away from it.
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My first reaction to that 28 point plan was that this is the first one. And then they say, this is so bad, then, okay, we have made some concessions. And here is the second one, which is what I expect will happen, that you say, okay, right, let's make some concessions for Ukraine. Look, until we see, and this will be very soon, we won't know, but it won't go as far as what Stkov and his cronies in Russia had dreamt up. And I think Marco Rubio has also made some noises that there will be compromises, but Europe is not part, as you said, Europe is not of part at all in the consulting room.
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Well, no, I mean, Europe did advance its own plan, which Putin just said he wasn't having.
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He wasn't at all having.
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Yeah, I mean, just finally on this one, Marion, and again, you were hinting at this earlier Europe may also have to shortly consider the prospect that the United States is somewhat distracted by a vainglorious tilt at Venezuela. Just going back to what you were saying about Brussels. Is there serious talk going on about what Europe does if it just cannot count on the United States at all and that Europe is going to have to take complete responsibility for its own security?
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Yeah, absolutely. I mean, it would be a lot easier if that was a phased approach. Right, where there was some cooperation with the U.S. and because the Trump administration is so changeable, sometimes it seems like there is agreement. You know, like for example, with the US Announcing that they are going to withdraw troops from Romania, but giving plenty of notice so that European states can come up with an alternative suggestion. And then sometimes it seems like they might just wake up one day and decide that they're going to make a big change. But European states are trying to prepare for that, not just when it comes to military hardware and building up troop numbers, but also when it comes to things like where is our software actually coming from, Are we all working on US Tech company clouds and that sort of thing, which is also a huge issue, as we've seen with the US Sanctions against ics, SEC judges that all of a sudden found themselves locked out of various email accounts and so on. So there are lots of conversations going on. But the huge problem is that we have become so used to relying on the United States as underwriting all sorts of things, because that's an arrangement that's essentially been going on since the end of the Second World War, that there are so many different things that need to change. And I think it's absolutely right that this is a monumental shift that we're seeing, but expecting it to take place overnight is almost too much. And I think if we were in a position where we needed to move faster, we could. Similarly to the huge transformation we've seen in Ukraine when the full scale invasion started. But unless there is such a shock, it would undoubtedly be easier and less painful to do it over a few years rather than having to do it by January.
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Well, to India now, which is preparing to conduct at some point in the next couple of weeks a test of long range missiles in the bay of Bengal. December 11 is reportedly the likely date. Among those taking a keen interest is China, which has in recent days dispatched to the Indian Ocean for research ships. Listeners are invited to imagine the inverted commas around the phrase research ships, though there is informed speculation that the Chinese ships are not monitoring the missile launches as such, but taking advantage of the fact that commercial shipping will have been warned off the region, making undersea data collection in easier. Somnath, first of all, I mean, testing missiles is the sort of thing a country which has that capacity is likely to do from time to time. Is this necessarily in and of itself a big deal? Is India just trying to make sure this kit works or are they trying to make a point to somebody?
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I think India is definitely trying to make a point, but it's caught between the devil and the deep blue sea here. You know, at the moment, China seems to have four vessels which are within mapping distance of Indian naval assets in the Bay of Bengal. But India cannot make a very big shout and hoo ha about it because it's also trying to cozy up to China. After USS rebuttal and the trade problems which came up, the Indian Prime Minister tried to really forget what has been happening with China in the last five to seven years. Having said this, India has always thought that Indian Ocean Bay of Bengal is kind of their preserve clue in the name. Yes, indeed. While China has been always flexing muscle in the South China Sea, suddenly there is a movement of China trying to come in on Indian territory. Flexing muscle. And it's something which will make the Indian government very wary. Of course these vessels, as you said, whatever China says, it will have mapping sensors, it will have sonars, they will be useful in submarine warfare. And India will have to play this carefully. The missile launches will it was supposed as far as. I mean, I had a quick conversation with a few folks in. It was supposed to happen about two weeks ago. This has been postponed because of the Chinese activity. But December 11 seems to be the day.
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C
Can we at least assume, reassure ourselves, Marion, that China would be unlikely to try on with India some of the tactics we have seen at try on with the Philippines, which it just bullies and shoves around, ramming at ships, turning fire hoses on them, et cetera. China might be a bit more circumspect where India is concern.
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Expect so, yes. Not only because India is bigger, but also because India is a fellow nuclear power. I mean in some ways having, you know, monitoring vessels nearby when a fellow nuclear power is planning a missile test is not that unusual. Last week Russia was undertaking a missile test and there were two monitoring planes from the United States in the air sort of watching the whole thing. So in a way that's just something that happens. But I think it is really interesting, you know, what we've been discussing essentially that China is likely to also use this to try and gain some other advantage, gather additional data and so on. And of course, they're also showing that they are there, they are watching, they are contesting the territory in a way. And this is something that's likely going to continue to take place because India and China are very much in the maybe medium stages of a competition over regional power and they have a contested border. And while China, you know, so far has been able to focus primarily on rivalry with the United States and sort of expanding its, its claims on the South China Sea, I think especially as India is sort of trying to grow as a global power and, and essentially take on China as a strategic adversary, China is beginning to need to pay attention to what India is doing in that regard as well.
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Sonmath, just finally on this one, President Putin of Russia is due in India later this week, apparently at least partially with a view to pitching the S500 missile defense system, the successor to the S400, which India already has. Is it clear, especially now and especially after three and a half years of Russia doing what Russia has been doing, why Narendra Modi values that relationship?
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Well, I think from the Indian point of view, and this might seem very strange to the west, that Russia has been a far more reliable ally over decades to India than the US has been US is the post 90s kind of cozying up. And India, therefore it makes strategic sense for Indians not to the Indian state, not to abandon somebody who's been a very long standing ally. Also, the other position, which I think a lot of Indian Foreign Ministry officials unofficially say is that Russia might have invaded Ukraine. America has invaded enough places around the globe. So let's not have a moral high ground on that. I mean, it's a position which I think Europe finds very hard to understand. But when you see it from an Indian position, I understand what they're saying.
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Well, let's look at the UK meanwhile, where the government is preparing to announce restrictions to the long treasured right as enshrined in Magna Carta in 1215 of those accused of crimes to judgment by a jury of their fellow citizens who either haven't thought of a reason to be excused it or just have nothing better to do and fancy a few days of free sandwiches. David Lammy, Secretary of State for justice, has announced that henceforth trials likely to result in a sentence of less than three years will be handled by a judge alone. The aim, aim is to reduce an astonishing backlog of cases in the Crown court system. In England and Wales, nearly 80,000 are outstanding with nearly 6,000 already awaiting a verdict for at least two years. Someone charged with a serious offence today may not front the beak until 2030, creating fearful temptation for elderly bank robbers. Marion, where are we on this? On a scale between this is just, you know, practical, pragmatic and a reasonable way to address a backlog rather, and the beginning of the end of our civil liberties?
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Somewhere in between, I would say. I mean, I was trying to think about this in a comparative way because I know that jury trials are very popular as a way of organizing a trial in the Anglophone world. But I don't think that Germany has jury trials. And apparently a bit of the difference is that certain crimes in Germany are tried by more than one judge or like by a panel of judges, which is like a jury in itself in a way. So there's still the difference that you don't have just one person making a decision, which I think is what people like about having a jury. That's not just all down to the judge, but at the same time, you know, we can tell from the backlog that the current system isn't working all that well. And also, you know, the jury system doesn't seem to always be working for the people that have to serve on the jury, in the sense that the payment that is made instead of your normal salary for many people is actually way below what they would be earning in a day. It can sometimes take forever to put together a jury. So I think there are a lot of other challenges with the jury system that may also go beyond logistics and that may speak to who actually gets selected, how fair it is to put together a jury. So. So while I can understand why people are concerned about the sort of sudden change rather than there being a consultation, I think there really is something there that needs to be looked at and that needs to be reformed to make the system work better for everyone, because.
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They have made Somnath some practical reforms already or what they've sold as practical reforms. They're much less likely now to empanel juries in trials of complex financial fraud cases on the fundamental basis that almost nobody actually understands the evidence. True.
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If I may, Andrew, please. Marion just spoke about Germany. I have been a court reporter in India for a few years. 80,000 cases in a lower court in Delhi is a backlog.
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Right.
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So in one, the astounding differences in number kind of just astonishes me, but I'm being facetious again. Another point is that civil liberties of the accused must be respected. Similarly, the civil liberties of those being called into jury service. I think no one goes happily to jury. Very few would go happily to jury service. It's very obvious that you cannot have status quo. This is just going to become bigger and bigger and bigger. So I, again, David Lammy is caught between hard realities. I think it's a reasonable. I'm not a legal expert, so I'm saying this very cautiously, that it seems to be a reasonable approach to take, that if it's under three years, it can be decided by one judge or maybe, as in the German case, a couple of judges. So I see it as reasonable, you know, not being an expert on judicial matters.
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C
One civil liberties angle which was raised by at least one Labour mp, Marion. This would be Sarah Russell, the MP for Congleton, wanted juries retained specifically in charges relating to protests which are obviously likely to end in sentences, if they end in sentences of under three years. But there are many celebrated instances of people being brought before the beak on such charges and may be, I guess, technically guilty in the eyes of a law. But a jury has decided, well, the hell with that, this is ridiculous. They walk. Is there a concern that it may be misapplied in cases like this that people who have perhaps broken the law while, you know, protesting don't get a chance to make the case to their fellow citizens but have to make it to a judge instead?
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Maybe. I mean, I can see why she would be concerned about that specifically at this point in time in the uk, because there has been such a, you know, range of different cases against especially Palestine action protesters. Right. And I think this has also been a case where there has been a lot of concern about UK government overstepping and, and sort of curtailing people's right to protest and also not being particularly proportional in their response. But at the same time, and maybe this is a really worrying trend for what's to come. But if you actually look back at how UK government has acted in other similar cases, you know, if we sort of, like, are hopeful that this is just one example rather than a bigger trend, then perhaps that's not necessarily something to worry about too much, if that makes sense. And I also think, you know, there are, there have been cases where, you know, judges have shown leniency, especially if it's been something where it's clear that the person was, was sort of acting morally or was acting because they had some, like, ethical motivation. You know, there are other cases where protesters have broken into military bases or, you know, have sort of broken into defense companies, that sort of thing, where ended up with a lighter Sentence or no sentence at all, or just a warning even if they did technically break the law because the judge took their sort of moral values into account. So yeah, can see where she's coming from, but hopefully this isn't a sort of general trend in the uk.
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Well, to Denmark and to excellent tidings for listeners in that country who may be wearied of the seasonal task of resentfully inscribing Christmas cards for obnoxious relatives, tedious colleagues, dreary friends, pestilential professional contacts, and that ghastly couple from Norway they met on holiday in like 1997 or whatever and are maintaining annual contact with for reasons surpassing anybody's understanding. This is the last year you'll have to do it or indeed be able to. On December 30, Denmark state owned mail service Postnord will stop collecting and delivering letters including Christmas cards. Somna first European country to make a move like that. Letters are down 90% in Denmark this century. At the risk of undermining my extremely amusing wind up to this, you can still send them via a private firm if you must. But is this the end of written correspondence or the beginning of it?
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B
Andrew, I mean I'll go against the grain of what you suggested and you know, while I was all for reform in the jury service, I think the state must, you know, state everything. Doesn't have to be for profit or efficiency and the state can stay step into for some kind of nostalgia. Christmas is the one biggest religious festival here. This is a long held tradition. It binds together communities. You might not think so. And it's joyful to receive Christmas cards, I'm told, and to send them. So there is a reason the state exists and this should be one of the priorities, that some kind of traditions need to be cherished and preserved. And I know you're looking at me very kind of skeptically, so I give up on this one, but I think it's a sad move.
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C
But are people actually maintaining that tradition? Marion, at around this time of year, is your mantelpiece heaving with Christmas cards?
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Not yet, but I do actually really like Christmas cards and I guess.
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Thank you.
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The point here is also that it's not just about Christmas cards, right? It's about any kind of snail mail. And I think that's actually really sad. Not, I mean, not just because I agree that the state ought to maintain mail. I mean maybe it's really being phased out, but I always wonder in these changes who is actually being left behind, you know, like who still doesn't have an Internet connection who still doesn't have a smartphone. I'm sure there are even in Denmark still some people in that position. But also I actually really recently have gone back to trying to write friends more longhand notes, not just for Christmas, but also generally just because it's nice to not always be on your phone. You know, everyone's sick of WhatsApp. I know everyone's sitting on like 10 unresponded to messages or maybe that's just me, but, but it is just, you know, it's, it's nice for me to write because I'm doing something deliberate that's like slower and hopefully it's nice for the other person to receive where they're getting something that's not just from HMRC or like the home office or whatever. Right. So, yeah, I think, I think snail mail is really nice. And it's, I find it surprising. I mean, does it also mean you can no longer send, send like letters to Denmark, the state.
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C
I think, I think you can send letters to Denmark.
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A
Okay.
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I'm not quite sure who deals with it once it arrives, but, but Somnath, just to give us finally, I guess, some perspective on this, can you recall, because I was just trying to think about this and I can't, I can't recall the last time I sent either by the post anything that wasn't official or received by the post anything that wasn't official canoe.
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B
So, you know, my wife and my teaches my son to write Christmas cards and send it to granny and grandpa and friends and receive it. So again, so I haven't Christmas not being my kind of, you know, something which I've grown up with. And the last time I did send a Christmas card to my mother, British Royal Mail never delivered. I've given up on that one one. But yeah, you do. You're being kind of left out on this one. Marianne and I have ganged up and saying, yeah, yeah, happens all the time.
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C
Somnath Bile and Marian Mesmer, thanks both for joining us. Finally, on today's show, it's off to the Cote du Jour for the international luxury travel market. Monocle Radio is in Cannes speaking to some of the biggest names in the luxury hospitality sector. Earlier, Laura Kramer caught up with Matthew Hernandez, CEO of Tourism de Barcelona. Laura started by asking him about this year's tourism highlights in Barcelona.
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D
2025 has been a very interesting year for Barcelona. We took speed from America's cup in 2024. So that positioned us in a new segment, which is the sea and Barcelona is the sea. And that was important to highlight Barcelona as a place with a nice port, a new also Olympic port that was fully renewed. And that happened on 2025 and many things to come. And one of the nicest things we had on 2025 was having you monocle at Quality of Life conference in Barcelona that we were very proud to host you there.
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E
I was so happy that you just seamlessly picked that up because I was hoping you were going to say that.
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D
Yes, that was one of the nicest things of the year.
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E
Oh, we loved it as well. Thank you very much for the beautiful hosting experience. Now, when you look ahead to 2026 now, what experiences do you think will define next year?
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D
Well, next year will be an amazing year for Barcelona. First, it has been recognized by UNESCO as the world capital of architecture. And that will be something. So many things will highlight our heritage, which is important from the Roman era up to most contemporary architecture. And that's important, important. Then linked to the architecture. It will be the 100th anniversary of the death of Gaudi, which is also something important. And also that year on June 2026, Sagrada Familia will be finishing its skyline with the ending of the highest tower of Gaudi, Cerrada Familia, which is the Jesus Tower. And that will be also a top highlight in Barcelona. Then in July we will have the best architects coming to Barcelona to study, to discuss, to promote, to define how architecture will be defined in the world in the future. So all that will be happening in Barcelona related to architecture. So the year of architecture and Sarada Familia is important. But then also in July will be something very special, which is for all those that love cycling, Barcelona will be the city that will be having the Grande Pac of Tour de France. So that will be three days, amazing three days highlighting the profile of Barcelona as a city of cycling. And well, Tour de France will be beginning in Barcelona. We will have minus one day where all those teams will be presented in front of Zara da Familia with Sao Paulo, which will be interesting. And then a Contre la Monte from the beach up to the Mont of Montjuic. And then the second day it will be highlighting the viners of the area of Barcelona. And then on the third day they will leave up to France where they'll stay.
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E
That sounds very busy. You're going to have a very busy year.
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D
Well, we love being busy. Barcelona is an open city that needs to be always highlighted as some of the best places in earth.
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E
And so with so much Happening. You know, if I'm a visitor and I'm planning the trip ahead, where do you want me to head in the city? Where would you say that are some new areas that maybe we should be checking out, some old areas that as you said, they're being reconstructed or refurbished for the year ahead, for 2026, for these milestones that are going to be happening. Where would you tell me to go?
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D
Well, I first would suggest you to look at which is our art offer. So our museums are changing. We do have the author museums in Barcelona, so the Picasso Museum, the Miro Museum, the Tapias Museum, and also about 45 minutes from the center, the Dali Museum. That's an offer that it's amazing. And together with that, having the chance to go to some of the festivals that we have, like Sonar, like Primavera Sound, the Jazz festival, the Guitar Festival, and then also new places in town, as you were mentioning, you will be able to enjoy less new glorious square, which is in de just in the city center with the Design Museum in the middle. And it's a new, fully renewed square. Plenty of green spaces, plenty of city spaces, which is interesting. And then also have a site to the Olympic port, which is only one year old, fully renewed, with a fantastic gastronomy experience there. And from there you can really see the skyline of Barcelona from the sea, which is. Which is interesting as well.
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E
Now you are somebody who travels very frequently and I imagine that it's really difficult for somebody who is the CEO of a tourism board to go around to a different city and not think to himself, oh, this is a very interesting thing that they're doing here. You probably can't turn your brain off too much from that aspect of it. Where are some good practices in different cities that you turn to that you think, oh, this is really something interesting we could be implementing.
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F
Well, I think that we've learned a lot from Copenhagen in terms of mixing quality of life together with the visitors economy, cycling in the center, making pedestrian. And that's part of what Barcelona has been doing recently on pedestrian areas and also cycling, which is important. Then I also love looking at how London is promoting culture. So cultural tourism, like Paris. So I love going to Paris for the biggest exhibitions that they really have, like Richter or the new private collections, which is important. And Barcelona in another fully different scale from London and Paris is also doing some of the similar things in terms of culture and museums.
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E
That's wonderful. And when you think about the hospitality sector in the city, in Barcelona, what is the strength of it? Where do you see the. What's the direction that it's going in?
- [35:55]
F
Well, Barcelona has been really transformed into an interesting city thanks to tourism. You have to keep in mind that Barcelona was an industrial city by 1992, when we hosted the Olympic Games last century, that's a long time ago, there were about 2 million tourists visiting Barcelona. Now there's about 15 million tourists. And this shift of opening the city to the visitors has really helped Barcelona to be one of the best cities in the world. And we want to keep being there. And that's why we decided to limit the capacity of the city. So we don't want to grow. We want to grow on value, not on volume, which is important. The experience of our visitors is very important. So that's why we limited the capacity. Then we taxed that capacity. We taxed coming to Barcelona. And that allows us to invest in the city, to invest in better capacity for Mai, for congresses, for conventions. Because our business tourism is very important. We want people to come to Barcelona to do business. And that's part of our strategy. And also through this taxation, we also invest on culture, we invest on better exhibitions and museums to grow in capacity, which is important. And then also investing on events. And we are proud of having, as I mentioned, Tour de France on in 2026, but also on 2031, we will be hosting Ryder cup near Barcelona, which is also important. So changing always the profile of the.
- [37:22]
D
City in order to be highlighted as a cultural destination.
- [37:26]
C
That was Matteo Hernandez, CEO at Tourism de Barcelona, in conversation with Monocle Radio's Laura Kramer. The Monocle team is on the ground at the international luxury travel market in Cannes until Thursday. If you are there, do swing by and say hello. And keep your ears peeled for our cover over the coming days. For more from iltm, also sign up for the Monocle Minute, our free daily email newsletter. That is all for this edition of the Daily State. Thanks to our panelists rather Marion Mesmer and Somnath Batabial. The show was produced by Monica Lillis and researched by Joanna Moser. Our sound engineer was Elliot Greenfield with editing assistance by Christy o'. Grady. I'm Andrew Muller here in London. The Daily is back at the same time tomorrow. Thanks for listening.
- [38:12]
A
Sam.