FC Barcelona, UNWTO sign collaboration agreement

MADRID, April 10 (Xinhua ) -- The United Nations World Tourism Organization (UNWTO) on Tuesday confirmed its signing of an agreement with FC Barcelona for cooperation in tourism and sports.

The agreement was signed by UNWTO Secretary-General Zurab Pololikashvili and Barca President Josep Maria Bartomeu.

Barca currently lead the Liga Santander by 11 points with just 7 games left this season.

Every home game sees thousands of foreign tourists flock to the Camp Nou Stadium to view players such as Leo Messi and Luis Suarez, bringing millions of euros on income every year to Barcelona's bars, restaurants and hotels.

"The relationship between tourism and sports is very significant and we are very pleased to begin this important collaboration," said Pololikashvili.

"I am sure that this agreement will open up new opportunities to maximize the joint contribution of tourism and sport to the competitiveness of destinations," he added.

Besides the football club, Barcelona has teams in 11 other sports, such as handball and basketball, and plays an important social and sporting role in Catalan society.

Tuesday's announcement came 24 hours after the UNWTO announced that Leo Messi had been appointed as an Ambassador for Responsible Tourism where he will accompany former Spain coach Vicente del Bosque and former Real Madrid and Spain defender Fernando Hierro in the role. Enditem