• The report is the outcome of the results of the Survey of Profile and Habits of Tourists in Barcelona region, which has been conducted since 2016.
• Restrictions and measures imposed internationally to contain Covid-19 have changed the profile of the tourist in Barcelona region during 2020.
• The typical tourist profile has been a 43.2 -year-old person, who has university studies, who has traveled for leisure and holidays reasons, who arrives at Barcelona region by own vehicle and who had already been in the destination municipality.
• The expense during the stay has been € 128.4 per person (€ 37.1 per person and per day). Food and drink has been the item where more resources have been allocated.

The Observatory of Tourism in Barcelona has published a new study on the Profile and Habits of Tourists in Barcelona region. This study, which has revealed the international pandemic situation, has been undertaken thanks to 2.542 surveys to visitors that stayed overnight in Barcelona region in 2020.

The tourist who travels to Barcelona region is an average of 43.2 years old, has university studies (47.6%), works as an employee (67.5%) and travels mostly alone (28.4%), with the family (27.2%) or as a couple (25.1%). Leisure and holiday have been the main reasons to visit the region (54.2%), while the own vehicle (62.5%) has been the most used means of transport to arrive.

Global mobility restrictions to content the Covid-19 disease have led tourists to rethink both their travel plans and their organization during the stay. Although in the region these restrictions have been less noted than in the city, 1 out of 5 tourists who have visited us since July have changed the destination of the trip and 1 out of 10, the type of accommodation, the transport of arrival and the use of internal transport. On the other hand, 3 out of 10 tourists have reduced the use of restaurants and leisure activities, 1 out of 5, the cultural visits and 1 out of 10, the duration of the stay. 90.1% of tourists who have visited us since July have stated that they have had sufficient information on the Covid-19 sanitary measures of the destination.

Although 21.9% of tourists have not consulted any source of information when planning the trip, the tourists of Barcelona region have had a similar behavior than those of Barcelona city:  they have used the information provided from both, websites and friends and relatives. On the other hand, the purchase of the arrival transport and the accommodation has been made directly with the company, both through the website and through other channels.

Despite the restrictions caused by the Covid-19, the type of accommodation used by tourists in the region during 2020 has not experienced major differences compared to previous years: most of the visitors keep staying in hotels (62.0%). The average length of stay has been 4.4 nights.

Tourists in Barcelona region are attracted by the character and friendliness of the people, the accommodation, and the natural environment. They mostly take quiet walks to relax (76.5%) and go to restaurants (68.8%) during their stay. Noteworthy is that 83.2% of respondents would recommend a visit to the destination municipality.

The expense during the stay has also experienced significant differences compared to previous years, with falls exceeding -40%, reaching € 128.4 per person which means € 37.1 per person and day. Despite this variation, the tourist continues to spend more than half of this expenditure on food and drinks, followed, in this order, by shopping, internal transportation and entertainment.

Finally, the report also includes an analysis of the places that tourists visit or want to visit outside the municipality where they stay overnight: 26.1% of the surveyed tourists have made an excursion outside the municipality (12.6%, in Barcelona city), a trend that has decreased considerably compared to previous years.

It is possible to consult the data of the Barcelona region without Barcelonès region through the report of results of the Survey on the profile and habits of Tourists visiting Barcelona surroundings during 2020.

More infomation: Report on the Profile and Habits of Tourists in Barcelona region 2020