The Observatory of Tourism in Barcelona updates the Destination Barcelona tourism forecast report as of 02/07/2021. This report highlights the effects of Covid-19 on the tourism sector.

Covid-19 situation

Covid-19 preventive measures continue despite the increasing number of worldwide vaccinations.

In Catalonia, from the 21/06 to the 12/07, the following measures affect the tourism sector:

• Restaurants and bars: 50% of capacity on the inside and 100% on the outside of the establishments. Opening hours from 06.00 am to 01.00 h. 
• Commerce: 70% of capacity on shops without surface limit
• Professional events: allowed at 70% of their capacity
• Culture: 70% of capacity in museums, exhibition centers, cinemas and concert halls until 23 h
• Nightlife: 50% of capacity until 3.30 h
• Sports: public is not allowed in international or national professional football or basketball competitions
• Amusement parks: 50% of capacity

Source markets

The EU Digital COVID certificate is already operational. In Spain, the entrance of passengers from EU countries (or zones) with risk is allowed if one of the following is presented:

1. Vaccination certificate

2. Diagnosis certificate

3. Recovery certificate

The rest of EU passengers are accepted without any certificate. On the other hand, passengers traveling from intercontinental countries are also accepted as long as they present the vaccination certificate. 

Noteworthy is that from the 02/07 passengers coming from the UK will have to show a vaccination or a diagnosis certificate. Meanwhile, the USA have entered to the list of intercontinental countries from which no certificates are required.

The entry measures for passengers coming from India, South Africa and Brazil are maintained. 

Transportation offer

The global airlines capacity during 28/06 week has decreased by -35.1%, and in Spain, by -41.9% (var. 21/19). However, Spain has experienced a week-on-week growth of +18.2%, which means that more than 300,000 new seats in a single week have been added.

The forecasts show an important recovery in the number of seats operated worldwide over the coming weeks, although it must be reminded that airlines continue to readjust their flight schedules week after week.

The cruise activity in Barcelona Port has been reactivated. In the next 3 months, 7 cruise lines will operate, by departing from Barcelona or making stopovers.

Tourist offer and professional events

In Barcelona city, 202 hotels with 44,275 beds remain open. The Eixample, the Gothic Quarter, and Sant Martí are the districts with more available offer.

Beasides, 88.6% of the cultural facilities in Barcelona city are open, while restrictive measures for the development of cultural, popular, and sports activities are being eased.

On the 02/07 the Barcelona Bus Turístic service is reactivated with two operational lines and an approximate frequency of 30 minutes.

As for the professional events, it must be highlighted that there are 94 confirmed congresses for the upcoming years, 34 in 2021. Meanwhile, about 90 applications are open until 2027.

Tourist demand

Over the last week, Google searches from Spain for Barcelona city have increased, while those for Destination Barcelona have slightly decreased. Most of the searches for both geographical areas keep coming from Catalonia.

The Barcelona flights and accommodation searches achieve their best positioning on the Dutch, the French, the Italian and the Spanish markets, followed by Germany and the United Kingdom. Destination Barcelona has ranked, 11th in search of both accommodation and flights in the ranking of international destinations worldwide.

The hotel bookings in Barcelona city over the last week (20/06-26/05) have remained stable: while two weeks ago, 50.7% of bookings had been made, last week, they were 50.1% (as compared with the peak since January 2020). However, over the same week, the volume of hotel reservations in Barcelona region has been lower: while two weeks ago, 90.9% of bookings have been made, last week, they were 73.2% (as compared with the peak since January 2020). 

In Barcelona city, the international bookings (64.7%) have been predominant once again and the lead time has been 24 days. Meanwhile, national reservations (60.3%) keep being higher than the domestic ones in Barcelona region and the lead time has been 23 days.

Destination Barcelona tourism forecast (02/07/2021)