The Observatory of Tourism in Barcelona updates the Destination Barcelona tourism forecast report as of 18/06/2021. 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 14th of June, 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
• 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 will be valid from the 01/07, although some countries have already started piloting it from the 07/06.

Meanwhile, Spain already is already allowing the entrance of passengers from EU countries with risk if one of the following three certificates is presented:

1. Vaccination certificate

2. Diagnosis certificate

3. Recovery certificate

On the other hand, passengers traveling from intercontinental countries are also accepted as long as they present the vaccination certificate. However, it must be reminded that those traveling from one of the countries included in the list of countries from which passengers can enter the EU or from the UK, will not have to present any certificate.

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

Transportation offer

The global airlines capacity during 14/06 week has decreased by -38,7%, and in Spain, by -52,1% (var. 21/19). However, Spain has experienced a week-on-week growth of +14,9%, which means almost 300,000 new seats in a single week.

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.

At Barcelona Airport, Vueling has announced that it will offer 1,200 weekly flights during the summer that will cover 102 routes, of which 76 will be international, while the new low-cost Barcelona-Madrid train will start operating next week (23/06, Avlo) and the first cruises will start operating in Barcelona Port (26/06, MSC Cruises).

Tourist offer and professional events

In Barcelona city, 186 hotels with 42,073 beds remain open. The Eixample, the Gothic Quarter, and Sant Martí are the districts with more available offer.

Beasides, 87.5% of the cultural facilities in Barcelona city are open, while restrictive measures for the development of cultural, popular, and sports activities are being eased.

As for the professional events, it must be highlighted that there are 96 confirmed congresses for the upcoming years, 40 in 2021. Meanwhile, about 90 applications are open until 2027.

Tourist demand

Over the last week, Google searches from Spain for both Barcelona city and Destination Barcelona have increased. 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, once again, 10th in search of accommodation and 9th in search of flights in the ranking of international destinations worldwide.

The hotel bookings in Barcelona city over the last week (07/06-13/05) have increased: while two weeks ago, 46.8% of bookings had been made, last week, they were 50.5% (as compared with the peak of January 2020). Also over the same week, the volume of hotel reservations in Barcelona region has been higher: while two weeks ago, 61.3% of bookings have been made, last week, they were 81.8% (as compared with the peak of January 2020). 

In Barcelona city, the international bookings (61.8%) have been predominant once again and the lead time has been 26 days. Meanwhile, national reservations (64.8%) keep being higher than the domestic ones in Barcelona region and the lead time has been 19 days.

Destination Barcelona tourism forecast (18/06/2021)