International cards accounted for a quarter of bank card spending in Barcelona city shops in September

The Barcelona Tourism Observatory: city and region, offers below the main tourism activity monitoring indicators in Barcelona city and Barcelona region for September:

Barcelona city

• Hotels and guesthouses supply has accounted for almost 680 establishments and 86,000 available beds (+1.9% above September 2019 in bed places).
• The number of tourists in hotels, guesthouses and homes for tourist use has decreased (-5.1% Var. 23/19), but thanks to a growth in the average stay (from 2.7 to 3.0 nights), overnight stays have almost remained at the same level (+4.2% Var. 23/19). Although the average length of stay has been shorter month-on-month, homes for tourist use have recorded the highest length of stay (4.0 nights), while hotels and guest houses have recorded an average stay of 2.6 nights. On the other hand, the bed occupancy rate in homes for tourist use has stood near 58.0%, while in hotel establishments, at 74%.
• At Barcelona Airport, more than 4.6 million air passengers have been recorded, still behind September 2019 (-10.1%).
• At Barcelona Port, both cruise and ferri passengers have increased on the prepandemic period (+3.1% and +15.8% respectively).
• For the second month in a row, American tourists were the most frequent visitors to Barcelona’s hotel establishments (15.6% share), followed by domestic tourists (15.1%), the British (8.1%) and the German (7.0%). They were followed by the Italian and French, with just over 5% share each.
• The typical tourist in Barcelona city in September¹ has been a 36-year-old person, travelling for leisure (61.8%), and travelling as a couple (34.8%). The average expenditure during the stay in the city has stood at 96.0€ per person per day, which have been mainly spent on food and drink (49.6%), culture and entertainment (18.1%) and shopping for clothes, footwear, souvenirs and personal effects (16.2%).
• Bank card expense in tourist establishments in Barcelona city has remained ahead of those in the previous years. International cards have accounted for a quarter of bank card spending in Barcelona city shops in September.
• Registered unemployment in the tourism activities remained below pre-pandemic levels (-16.4%) and permanent employment has meant more than half of the new hiring (51.4%).

Barcelona region

• Hotels, guesthouses, rural tourism establishments, and campsites have accounted for almost 1,100 available establishments and almost 100,000 operational bedplaces (+2.0% on September 2019).
• Tourists staying in these types of establishments have been increased (+12.7% Var. 23/19), but despite registering a higher average than in Barcelona city (3.1 nights), their length of stay has been reduced by 0.4 nights compared to the summer of 2019, so that the number of overnight stays has grown in a more limited way (+1.1% Var. 23/19). By type of establishment, campsites gained the most overnight stays in relative terms (+17.5% Var.23/19) and recorded a higher average length of stay (3.8 nights), while rural tourism grew by +14.3% (Var.23/19) and recorded an average length of stay of 2.1 nights. Hotel establishments, on the other hand, recorded a decrease in the number of nights spent (-2.5% var. 23/19), with an average stay of 3.0 nights.
• 1 out of every 3 tourists in hotel establishments of Barcelona region has been domestic. 
• The typical tourist in Barcelona region in September¹ has been a 43.7-year-old person, who has travelled for leisure (59.8%) and who has travelled as a couple (54.2%). Their average expenditure during their stay in the region was €57.8 per person per day, which has been mainly spent on food and drink (61.4%) and shopping for clothes, footwear, souvenirs and personal effects (14.3%).
• Registered unemployment in the tourism sector has remained below pre-pandemic levels (-17.1%) and 6 out of every 10 new contracts were permanent (59.1%).

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