For the first time in Destination Barcelona, tourists hire accommodation mostly through OTAs

The main conclusions of this report are presented below, according to the different sections that correspond to the specific objectives of the study.

 

Sociodemographic profile

• Tourist profile: The typical tourist profile who has visited Destination Barcelona in 2022 is that of a man (63.7%), with an average age of 37.6 years, with university studies (67.1%) and working as a salaried employee (64.8%).
• Origin: Although the international market has led the ranking of origin of tourists of Destination Barcelona (69.9%), we can still see how its market share remains lower than in the years before the pandemic (-7.5pp Var.22/19). Noteworthy that France and the United Kingdom are the two international countries with the most visitors to the Barcelona Destination.

 

Characteristics of the stay

• Average stay: In Destination Barcelona, ​​the average stay was 4.9 days, data very similar to those of the last 5 years.
• Accommodation typology: As in previous years, more than half of tourists have stayed in a hotel (59.9%), especially in four-star hotels (54.2%), followed by private homes (with friends, relatives) (12.3%), Homes for Tourist Use (HTUs) (9.0%) and youth hostels (8.8%).

 

Reason and characteristics of the travel

• Travel purpose: Leisure continues to be, once again, the reason for the majority of tourists who come to Destination Barcelona (67.7%). On the other hand, it should be noted that professional travelers (18.7%), despite losing market share compared to the pre-pandemic years, regain the second position in terms of reason for travel lost during the pandemic years.
• Repeatability: After two years marked by mobility restrictions due to Covid-19, in 2022 there has been a 30.4% increase in the number of tourists visiting for the first time the municipality in which they have stayed (49.7%), thus reaching a profile very similar to the one we had in the pre-pandemic years (-1.2pp Var.22/19).
• Travel group and accompanying persons: Almost 75% of the visitors does it accompanied, mostly as a couple (43.6%) or with friends (14.6%). The average of these groups was 3.4.

 

Travel planning

• Alternative destinations: Although more and more tourists are considering alternative destinations when planning their trip, 63.0% of tourists still do not consider any alternative destination to Destination Barcelona.
• Information sources: The majority of these tourists continue to be guided both by the information they find on websites (56.2%) and by the information provided by their friends and family (28.3%).
• Transport of arrival: Despite not reaching 2019 values ​​(-7.0pp Var.22/19), the plane has positioned itself as the most used form of transport to reach Destination Barcelona (62.8%), followed by the private vehicle (22.3%) and the train (10.7%).
• Hiring channel: The purchase of arrival transport has been carried out, once again, mostly through the company’s website (64.6%), while the hiring of accommodation has mainly been carried out for the first time in all the series through OTAs (online travel agencies) (45.7%).
• Anticipation of the reservation: Although tourists who visit Destination Barcelona no longer contract their trip with as little notice as in the pandemic years, 31.4% continue to do it during the last week or the last day before travel.

 

Expense

• Average expense: The average expense of the whole trip per tourist in 2022 has been the highest in the last 5 years with a value of €882.5: € 304.0 in round trip transport, € 286.6 in accommodation – € 63.9 per person per day – and € 291.9 in other expenses – € 67.3 per person and night -. Noteworthy that American tourist continue to allocate a higher average expenditure than the rest.

 

• Breakdown of Expenses: Tourists continue to spend, once again, half of their expense during the stay on food and drink and distributing the rest, in that order, on entertainment, shopping and internal transport.

 

Carried out activities and main internal transport

• Activities undertaken: As in previous years, going to restaurants (89.5%) and taking quiet walks to relax (86.9%) are the activities most carried out by tourists during their stay in Destination Barcelona.
• Internal transport: 59.0% of tourists have chosen to travel on foot within the municipality, 38.1% by metro, 23.4% by taxi and 20.0% by bus, being on foot the main form of travel in 47.7% of cases.

 

Excursions

• Excursions made: 21.2% have made an excursion outside the municipality in which they are staying, with Barcelona being the main destination of these excursions (9.7%).
• Excursion transport: The private car (33.0%) and the local rail network train (26.0%) are, once again, the means of transport most used to make these excursions.
• Reason for the excursion: Visiting for tourism (67.7%), visiting friends and family (7.5%) and attending professional or other work meetings (7.2%) are the main reasons to carry out these excursions.

 

Other aspects of the Destination

• Evaluation of the municipality: The tourist who visits Destination Barcelona is mainly attracted by the character and friendliness of the people (8.6), by the climate (8.5), by public transport (8.4), by the bars and restaurants (8.4) and by the gastronomy (8.4) and continues to values to the whole of this destination municipality very positively (8.6).
• Safety in the city: Only 1.9% of tourists report having been the victim of a crime or attempted crime during their stay in the Destination of Barcelona.
• Sustainability: 30.5% of tourists who visit the Destination Barcelona would be willing to pay an extra cost of more than 10% for a sustainable service
• European destination: 27.8% of tourists who visit Destination Barcelona have spent the night in another European destination during their trip.

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The Profile and Habits of Tourists in Destination Barcelona 2022 has been undertaken thanks to 10.114 surveys to visitors aged 18 and over that stayed overnight in Destination Barcelona in the months of January to December 2022 in any type of accommodation other than a second home or a cruise, with the aim of getting to know better the profile and habits of travelers during their stay in Destination Barcelona.

 

More information: Report on the Profile and Habits of Tourists in Destination Barcelona 2022