Spain Economy and Communication

By | July 16, 2021

ECONOMY

Business etiquette

Knowledge of Spanish is an advantage, although Spanish business partners often understand English, possibly also German or French. Appointments and business cards are common. Business hours vary from company to company and should be requested in advance.

Barcelona
Business life in Barcelona is used by foreign visitors and many business people here speak English or French. Catalan is only spoken at meetings if only native speakers are present; otherwise, Spanish is used.

Business hours vary depending on the size and type of company. We value punctuality. Formal wear is the norm; Women and men should appear in a suit or suit on business occasions. Men should also wear a tie. Business cards are exchanged during the mutual introduction. All Spaniards have two surnames, but only the first is used in conversation. Attention should be paid to academic or professional titles.

Madrid
Large and international companies are increasingly working continuously (adapted to the rest of Europe), but smaller and local companies still take the afternoon break. Being on time is not common, and being 15 minutes late is often used as an excuse (and willingly accepted) traffic congestion. Morning meetings are popular, probably because they often include delicious cakes and strong coffee. Business meetings with lunch or dinner are also common. At the first meeting you should definitely have business cards with you and dress formally, suits and ties are recommended for men. A private conversation is part of every meeting, because you only move on to business after getting to know each other a little. The children, Grandchildren and the flight to Madrid as well as the weather are then usually the topics of conversation before turning to work. They are workingMadrileños are very tough, yet nothing is more important than family, and it is perfectly acceptable to interrupt an important phone call to take a call from a family member.

Opening hours

Business hours in Barcelona, Seville and Granada: 8 a.m. / 9 a.m. to 6 p.m. / 7 p.m., usually with an extended lunch break from 1.30 p.m. to 3 p.m. / 4 p.m. Santiago de Compostela and Malaga: 9 a.m. to 2 p.m. and 5 p.m. to 8 p.m. Banks are only open in the morning.

Business hours Madrid: Mon-Fri 9 a.m.-2 p.m. and 5 p.m.-8 p.m., during the summer also 8 a.m.-3 p.m. Large and multinational companies have adjusted their business hours to the European standard and offer non-stop business hours.

Business contacts

Trade and Economic Department of the Spanish Embassy
Lichtensteinallee 1, D-10787 Berlin
Tel: (030) 229 21 34.
Internet: www.exteriores.gob.es/Embajadas/Berlin/es/Paginas/inicio.aspx

Spanish Chamber of Commerce
Friedrich-Ebert- Annex 56, D-60325 Frankfurt
Tel.: (069) 743 48 10.
Internet: www.spanische-handelskammer.de

Commercial department of the Spanish Embassy
Argentinierstr. 34, P.O.Box 604, A-1040 Vienna
Tel: (01) 513 39 33/4.
Internet: www.exteriores.gob.es/Embajadas/Viena/es/Paginas/inicio.aspx

Economic and Commercial Department of the Spanish Embassy
Gutenbergstrasse 14, CH-3011 Bern
Tel: (031) 381 21 71.
Internet: www.exteriores.gob.es/Embajadas/Berna/es/Paginas/inicio.aspx

Spanish-Swiss Chamber of Commerce
Sonnenbergstrasse 48, CH-8032 Zurich
Tel: (044) 254 90 70.

La Cámara de Espana
C / Ribera del Loira, 12, E-28042 Madrid
Tel: 915906900.
Internet: www.camara.es

COMMUNICATION

Phone

According to ezinereligion, The country code of Spain is 0034. The public telephones work with coins or Telefónica prepaid cards that can be bought in tobacco shops (estancos). Cheap international calls can be made from Internet cafes and telephone centers.

Spanish Islands: Every larger island has an island code, which is usually integrated in the phone number, for Mallorca 971, Tenerife 922, Gran Canaria and Lanzarote 928. The international information can be reached at 118 25. 112 is the general emergency number in Spain and on the Balearic Islands.

Cellphone

GSM 900/1800. Network operators include Amena (Internet: www.amena.com), Movistar (Internet: www.movistar.tsm.es) and Vodafone (Internet: www.vodafone.es). International roaming contracts exist. Spanish mobile numbers are preceded by a 6. The network coverage is very good and 4G reception is also available in large parts of the country.

International roaming can be used within the EU at the Euro tariff. Customers of all European mobile network operators automatically make all calls in and from other EU countries at the euro rate. However, the Eurotariff does not apply to other mobile communications services such as SMS, MMS and data transmission.

Internet

Internet cafes and facilities that provide Internet access are found in most urban areas. Internet providers include Futurnet (Internet: www.futurvia.es), ID Grup (Internet: idgrup.com/) and Orange (Internet: www.orange.es). Mobile surfing on the Internet is made possible by the Goodspeed Wi-Fi hotspots, which are subject to a charge (Internet: goodspeed.io/de/index.html). Free internet access is available via Wi-Fi in cafes, restaurants, kiosks and many airports, train and bus stations, in some shopping centers and hotels and in public places, including squares and parks. Sometimes a password is required. Barcelona and some other major Spanish cities as well as Playa de Palma on Mallorca and some other stretches of beaches in the Balearic Islands are covered by dense Wi-Fi networks (www.hotspotlocations.com).

Post Office

The mail delivery is relatively good. Airmail shipments in intra-European postal traffic take around 5 days. Poste restante items can be sent to all main post offices.

Radio

Since the use of shortwave frequencies changes several times over the course of a year, it is advisable to contact Deutsche Welle customer service directly (Tel: (+49) (0228) 429 32 08. Internet: www.dw-world.de) to request.

Spain Economy