• The tourist profile and the expenditure in Destination Barcelona is approaching or returning to pre-pandemic values.
• The proportion of international tourists has increased in relation to domestic tourists at the Destination as a whole. In Barcelona region, foreign tourists outnumbered Spanish tourists for the first time since 2019.
• The majority visited the Destination as a couple (43.6%) or alone (26.4%) and for leisure or holiday reasons (67.7%).
• The increase in international tourism has led to the recovery of the plane as the predominant means of transport to reach Destination Barcelona (62.8%), approaching pre-pandemic level.
• The average repeatability of tourists has fallen sharply compared to the pandemic years: in Barcelona city, tourists have stayed 4.1 times, while in Barcelona region, 12.6 times.
• During their stay, tourists tend to go on foot (47.7%) and to taste gastronomy or to go to restaurants (89.5%).
• The average tourist expenditure has increased year-on-year in all the categories analysed.

The Observatory of Tourism in Barcelona: city and region has released the second capsule of the 2022 Barcelona Tourism Activity Report, which provides data about the three usual geographical levels that the OTB covers: Barcelona city, Barcelona region, and Destination Barcelona. This capsule contains four chapters with data on the tourists' sociodemographic profile, their origin, their travel characteristics, and their expense.

Although the first months of the year have had an impact on the overall results, the figures presented in this document show that the substantial changes in tourist profile and expenditure recorded in 2020-2021 have been left behind. The easing of travel measures, the removal of most of the restrictions to contain Covid-19 and the consequent reopening of borders from spring 2022, have brought these indicators closer to pre-2020 figures.

Sociodemographic profile

6 out of 10 tourists in Destination Barcelona were men and the average age was 37.6 years, slightly increasing on the previous year (+0,4%).  Most of tourists had professional secondary education or university studies (67.1%), and were employed (64.8%).

Tourist origin

International tourists regained part of the market share, which was reduced during the pandemic, so that, at the Destination as a whole, 70.5% of foreign tourism was recorded, almost +15pp above 2021 and only -4.7pp below 2019. This recovery was more accentuated in Barcelona region (+18.0pp Var. 22/21) than in Barcelona city (+12.3pp Var. 22/21), although in the latter geographical area, its weight was more important, with almost 8 out of 10 international tourists.

As for the ranking of tourists by country of residence, tourists from Spain (+36.0% Var. 22/21) continued to top the ranking with a share of 29.5%. Tourists from France (+52.4% Var. 22/21) maintained second position, with a 9.4% share. They were followed by tourists from the United States (8.3%), who, like tourists from the United Kingdom (6.5%) tripled their arrivals compared to 2021. Tourists from Germany (5.2%) and Italy (5.0%), which also recorded significant year-on-year growth of +166.5% and +140.3%, respectively, ranked the fifth and the sixth.

The published document also presents data on the origin of cruise passengers and visitors to ICUB facilities. In both cases, international tourists were also the most numerous, with 85.0% and 66.5% of share, respectively. In the first case, it should be noted that the Americans (17%) regained the first position in the ranking, surpassing the Spanish (15%).

Travel characteristics

67.7% visited Destination Barcelona for holidays and leisure reasons, 18.7% for professional reasons and 16.6% for personal or other reasons. The first motivation was the only one that grew in 2022 compared to the previous year (+4.8pp), being more important in Barcelona city (70.4%) than in Barcelona region (63.7%) and returning to pre-pandemic levels in all cases.

Despite not reaching 2019 values, the plane was the most used means of transport to reach the Destination Barcelona (62.8%), to the detriment of the private car (22.3%) and the train (10.7%), the use of which increased during the pandemic, due to the reduction in international tourism. Thus, in 2022, in Barcelona city 8 out of 10 tourists arrived by air, while in Barcelona region, the private car was the most common means of transport (47.8%).

The number of times that tourists had previously visited the destination municipality decreased by half compared to the previous year: in Barcelona city, the average number of visits was 4.1 times, while in Barcelona region, it was 12.6. Thus, the results of this indicator were similar to the pre-pandemic values.

As for the travel group, travelling as a couple continued to be the most prominent (43.6%), followed by travelling alone (26.4%).

During their stay, tourists tended to travel by non-polluting means of transport. The percentage of those who went on foot (47.7%) was the highest in Destination Barcelona, although lower than the previous years. The use of the car (20.5%), which also decreased compared to 2021, ranked the second place in Barcelona region (-6.5pp). In Barcelona city, the metro (33.4%) increased its proportion of use (+6.6pp), to the detriment of walking (-7.7pp).

The most popular activities in the destination were tasting gastronomy / going to restaurants (89.5%), taking quiet strolls and relaxation (86.9%) and doing cultural visits (59.0%). All activities performed show an increase compared to 2021, with the exceptions of visiting friends and family (-5.2pp) and doing outdoor activities (-2.2pp), which grew during the pandemic years.

On the other hand, the number of excursions from the accommodation municipality increased slightly again: 2 out of every 10 tourists kept doing at least an excursion in Destination Barcelona. This proportion remained higher in Barcelona region (4 out of 10) than in Barcelona city (1 out of 10). 

Tourism expenditure

In 2022, all the spending categories analysed increased year-on-year in Destination Barcelona, approaching or exceeding pre-pandemic levels in several cases. Expenditure on inbound transport grew the most year-on-year (+105.1%) and practically equalled the expenditure recorded in 2019 (-3.2%). As for the spending per person per day in accommodation, it was higher than both, the previous year (+34.6%) and 2019 (+10.0%). The cost of package holidays increased to €911 (+33.0% year-on-year), but it was still -14.5% below 2019.

Spending per person per day increased to €67.3 (+17.0% year-on-year), almost achieving 2019's expense: €69.9. Food and beverage continued to be the most popular expense item (51.0% of total spend during the stay per person per night), although being slightly reduced. Spending on entertainment, leisure and culture (18.0%) ranked second and exceeded the share achieved in pre-pandemic years.

Those who spent the most during their stay were international tourists, who spent €78.1 per person per night, €10.8 above the average and, by geographical area, in Barcelona city the average expenditure of all tourists doubled Barcelona region’s (€84.4 vs €41.8).

More information: Barcelona Tourism Activity Report 2022 - Capsule 2