The end of the state of alarm marks the beginning of the tourism season in Destination Barcelona

The latest tourism activity data in Destination Barcelona have been updated

In May 2021, the tourist activity in Destination Barcelona has kept growing thanks to the end of the state of alarm in Spain, which has led to the lifting of the night curfew, the Catalonia perimeter lockdown, and the restrictive measures to avoid the spread of Covid-19. However, the activity is still way behind 2019 levels and it can’t be compared to 2020 because of its inexistence due to the total lockdown.

During May 2021, the accommodation offer in Destination Barcelona has kept growing in approximately 100 establishments and about 15,000 places compared to April.

In Destination Barcelona, the overnight stays figures have clearly improved in all types of accommodation compared to April: +56.7% in hotel establishments +17.8% in campsites, and +13.6% in rural tourism. The hotel establishments in Barcelona city have experienced a higher growth (+69.8%) than those in Barcelona region (+48.4%). On the other hand, the average length of stay in Barcelona city in homes for tourist use continues particularly high (8.8 nights). It must be reminded that this is due to a possible conversion of these into seasonal rental homes.

Barcelona Airport has registered an increase of +76,9% in passengers compared to April, while, in Barcelona port, ​​the cruise activity remained interrupted in May. As for ferries, the drop in the number of passengers in April has been -75,7% (var. 21/19).

In May, the cultural facilities of the city of Barcelona received almost +40% more visitors than in the previous month, mainly due to the end of the regional lockdown and the night of the museums' venues. During the last weeks, the proportion of foreign visitors to these facilities has increased, confirming the beginning of the return of international tourism.

National tourism remains dominant in all kinds of accommodation: 6 out of 10 tourists in hotel establishments are Spanish, and almost all of them, in rural tourism and campsites. In Barcelona city, the arrival of French and Italian tourists keeps standing out, although their proportion is quite far from the national tourists (60.3% reside in Spain, 15.8%, in France and 3.1%, in Italy).

In addition, in Barcelona Airport, the arrival of passengers on domestic flights keeps being the most important one above the rest of the origins. They have been followed by passengers traveling from France and Germany. The UK passengers stand in the eighth position because of the imposed measures to contain the British variant of Covid-19 during the first months of the year.

As for the economic impact of tourism in Barcelona city, purchases with bank cards in the city shops also show how the tourist activity has experienced a slight upturn in May. A small increase in the proportion of international cards use has also been observed, while the expense during the stay per person in the Destination as a whole has grown to €276.5 in May (+15.3% compared to April).

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With the analysis of the different thematic areas, which offer a transversal vision of the sector, the Observatory of Tourism in Barcelona updates the monitoring of the tourism activity. This analysis complements the monthly report on the Profile and Habits of Tourists in Barcelona Destination. All data is presented in three geographical areas: Barcelona city, Barcelona region, and Destination Barcelona.

Consult the interactive report on the Latest data section: