Campsites and HTUs at the forefront of tourist demand growth by percentage in June

The Barcelona Tourism Observatory: city and region, presents the monthly analysis of the main  tourism activity monitoring indicators.

The main conclusions of the June update are presented below by geographical area:

Barcelona city

• Hotels and guesthouses accounted for 680 establishments and more than 87.000 operational beds, slightly above both May and the previous year (+0,8% Var. 25/24).
• Demand for hotels, guesthouses and Homes for Tourist Use (HTUs) decreased compared to the previous month in both tourists and overnights. If compared interannually, the number of tourists increased (+8,6% Var. 25/24) but the average length of stay was shorter (from 2,9 nights in 2024 to 2,7 nights in 2025), which led the number of overnight stays to grow at a lower rate (+1,7% Var. 25/24).
• By type of accommodation, the average stay was 2,4 nights in hotel establishments and 3,5 in HTUs. Meanwhile, the occupancy rate decreased to 72,3% in hotel establishments (-1,8pp Var 25/24) and increased to 62,9% in HTUs (+4,6pp Var. 25/24).
• At Barcelona Airport, there were around 5,3 million passenger movements (+4,7% Var 25/24). The ranking of countries from which passengers flew to Barcelona Airport was led by Spain, followed by Italy, the United Kingdom, France and Germany.
• At the Port of Barcelona there were about 446.000 cruise passenger movements, a 10% decrease compared to May, and 180.000 ferry passenger movements, which represented a year-on-year increase in activity for both cruise ships (+4,5% Var. 25/24) and ferries (+0,9% Var. 25/24).
• Regarding the origin of tourists, in hotel establishments the proportion of international visitors was 85,7%, slightly below the previous month (-0,5pp). The ranking of tourists for this kind of establishment was once again led by the United States (20,2% share), followed by Spain (14,3%), the United Kingdom (9,0%) and Italy (5,0%).
• The typical tourist in Barcelona¹ during this month was a 36-year-old traveler, most commonly visiting as a couple (35,4%). Those who traveled for leisure accounted for more than 7 out of 10 travelers (+12,6pp interannually), while those who traveled for professional reasons came in second place, at 18,2%.
• The average expenditure during the stay in the city grew compared to the previous year (+3,3% Var. 25/24) but decreased compared to the previous month (-11,7%), at 103€ per person per day. It is worth noting that this was the highest recorded figure for a month of June.
• Spending during the stay in the city was primarily allocated to food and beverages (45,8%), followed by entertainment, leisure and culture (23,4%) and shopping (17,1%).
• Regarding the labor market, new hiring in the core tourism sector decreased both compared to the previous month and year-on-year (-10,9% Var. 25/24). Close to 6 out of 10 were permanent contracts, and the registered unemployment in the tourism activity was lower than the same period in 2024 (-2,6% Var. 25/24).

Barcelona region

• The operational supply of tourist accommodation in Barcelona region increased interannually (+1,4% Var. 25/24) and month-to-month (+9,2%), with 1142 establishments and close to 100.000 operating bedplaces.
• Tourist demand also increased month-on-month for both tourists (+8,5%) and overnight stays (+20,9%). Compared to 2024, there was an increase in tourists (+0,9% Var. 25/24) and overnight stays (+4,7% Var. 25/24), and the average length of stay also slightly increased (from 3,0 nights in 2024 to 3,1 nights in 2025).
• By type of accommodation, campsites had once again the longest length of stay (4,6 nights), followed by hotel establishments (2,9 nights) and rural tourism (2,4 nights). In terms of occupancy rate, hotel establishments registered a 67,0% in bedplaces (-0,4pp Var. 25/24), campsites registered a 55,1% (+1,1pp Var. 25/24) and rural tourism registered a 24,5% (-1,9pp Var. 25/24).
• 62,0% of tourists in hotel establishments in Barcelona region were international, a slightly higher proportion than in the previous month (+0,3pp).
• The typical tourist in Barcelona region during this month¹ was a 45-year-old individual who traveled for leisure (61,9%) and as a couple (48,0%).
• Average expenditure during the stay was set at 47,8€, lower than in the month of May (-3,5%) but higher than the previous year (+5,4% Var. 25/24). Taking into account the data for Barcelona city, the average expenditure in Destination Barcelona was 78,7€ (+3,8% Var. 25/24).
• The expenditure during the stay was mainly allocated to food and beverages (63,5%), shopping (16,0%) and internal transportation (10,8%).
• Hiring in the tourism activity in Barcelona region slightly increased year-on-year (+0,7% Var. 25/24). 60,3% of new contracts were permanent and the registered unemployment decreased by 3,9% year-on-year.

Based on half-yearly closing data, the city of Barcelona received a total of 7.6M tourists from January to June 2025, which when combined with the 4.9M tourists in Barcelona region, resulted in Destination Barcelona welcoming a total of 12.5M visitors. These figures, together with spending on accommodation and expenditure during the stay, allowed the estimation of the economic impact of direct tourist activity spending, amounting to a total of €6,765M for the entire destination. This impact was distributed as €5,035M in Barcelona city and €1.730M in Barcelona region. It is worth noting that, while the growth in the number of tourists in Destination Barcelona during the first half of 2025 has been moderate, with an increase of 1.0% compared to the first half of 2024 (-0.1% in the city of Barcelona and +2.9% in the Barcelona region), the economic impact generated has experienced a significant increase of +4.6% year-on-year (+2.8% in the city and +10.5% in the region). These calculations include data from paid tourist accommodations as well as other types of lodging without economic transactions, such as staying with friends and family.

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¹ For more information on the profile and habits of tourists during February in Destination Barcelona, please click on the following link.

More information:

Summary of tourism activity in Destination Barcelona – June 2025

Tourism activity interactive report