In November 2021, the tourist activity in Destination Barcelona has decreased if compared to October, due to the natural seasonality of the sector and to the Covid-19 global situation, of particular concern in Europe. Despite all of this, the activity has been much higher than in 2020 and the differences in demand have remained at around 25%-30% behind 2019.

During November, the accommodation offer in Barcelona city has kept increasing (+1.5% MoM). On the contrary, Destination Barcelona has lost almost 15,000 bed places (-11.0% MoM), mainly due to the closure of some campsites and hotel establishments in Barcelona region after the tourist season peak. However, noteworthy is that global capacity is now only -11.7% below 2019.

In November, the tourism demand has decreased in all the geographical analysed areas, if we compare it to the previous month, although it must be reminded that, in October, Barcelona city registered the highest annual records. Thus, in the Catalan capital city, the overnight stays were lower in November than in the previous month, but the activity was slightly over September. Overnight stays in hotel establishments fell by -29.3% (Var. 21/19), while in homes for tourist use, by -21.4% (Var. 21/19).

In Barcelona region, all kinds of accommodation have recorded fewer overnight stays than in the previous month: in hotel establishments (-43.7%) and campsites (-70.8%), this fall has been particularly sharp, over -30%, compared to 2019. In rural tourism dwellings, the losses have been more moderate: -30.9% compared to the previous month, and -25.0%, compared to pre-pandemic levels.

In Barcelona Airport, 2.3 million passengers have arrived in November, almost 6 times more than in 2020, yet -36.2% behind 2019. Meanwhile, in Barcelona port, ​​the arrival of cruise ship passengers has decreased to 86,000, -65.8% behind the same period in 2019. By contrast, the number of arrivals of ferry passengers has been reduced to 53,000, -33.2% behind October and -12.8% behind 2019.

As for the cultural facilities visitors of the city of Barcelona in November, they have decreased by -10% (MoM), and the figures are still about -40% behind pre-pandemic levels.

International tourism has remained over domestic tourism in Destination Barcelona (64.1% in hotel establishments), because of the high prevalence of foreign tourists in Barcelona city (72.3%). As for international tourism in the city, French tourists have been the most (12.2% of share and -0.8% MoM), followed by the Americans (-21.7% MoM) and the Italians (+2.8% MoM), both with a 6.7% of share. They have been followed by the Germans, with a 5.1%-share but a -33.0%-MoM loss.

At Barcelona Airport, the arrival of passengers on domestic flights (34.1%) has been lower than the international passengers (65.9%). With accumulated data from January to November, passengers traveling from Italy maintain the second position, followed by the French, the Germans, and the British.

Regarding the economic impact of tourism in Barcelona city, purchases with bank cards in the city shops also show how the tourist activity has kept increasing so that in November, they have been around +13% over 2019, while in October, they were +9%. The proportion of international cards has been slightly reduced. On the other hand, the expense during the stay per person in the Destination as a whole has kept falling to €360.4 (-6.7% MoM).

Finally, the job market of the tourism activity has kept improving in November: the hiring has increased (mainly temporary contracts). However, it should be noted that new indefinite contracts surpassed those of the same period of 2019. Moreover, the registered unemployment has continued being reduced, and for the third consecutive month, it has been lower than pre-pandemic levels (-18.0% compared to 2019).

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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: