• The Observatori del Turisme a Barcelona has undertaken an study about the tourist profile of Barcelona City and its region during 2017
• Barcelona city and its region registers an increase of 6 percentage points of the first-time visitors.
• The overall expense of the tourists in the city is around one thousand euros per person. During the stay, they spend mainly on food and drink (within the city, 45%, and in Barcelona Region, 63%)
• The Observatori is promoted by Barcelona Regional Council, ​​the Barcelona City Council and Turisme de Barcelona

Despite the political events and the terrorist attacks of last year, Barcelona city and its region, ​​achieve a high level of loyalty, since 47% of the visitors are repeaters. In particular, it’s important to note the increase of the first-time tourist, 6 percentage points in relation to 2016, especially long-haul flights tourists, according to the latest data that the Observatori del Turisme a Barcelona (OTB) which has been published in the “2017 Tourist Profile of Barcelona city and region study”. The OTB is ​​promoted by Barcelona Regional Council, Barcelona City Council and Turisme de Barcelona.

According to these data, the overall expense of the tourists who visited the city was 998€ per person (62€ less than in 2016). Without considering the cost of accommodation, transport and the tourist package, each tourist spent 329€ during his stay at the destination; almost twice as much as the tourist staying in Barcelona region (171€) and similar to 2015, but lower than in 2016, when a maximum of 352€ was reached.

If the expense of the tourists stay is analyzed by items, within the city of Barcelona, ​​45% is spent on food and drink. In Barcelona region, ​​this percentage goes up to 63%, as opposed to the shopping expense: in the city it represents 24% of the cost, with an average of 82€ per tourist, while in the Region it does not reach 21%. Entertainment and internal transportation are the other two important expense items.

The mean of transport used by tourists presents a very different behavior between those who visited the city and those who chose Barcelona region. Again in 2017, the plane was the main transport to reach the city of Barcelona. 83% did it through the airport, 10 percentage points more than four years ago. The use of the train has also increased as a mean of arrival (8.6% of the total). In the Barcelona region, ​​on the other hand, the private vehicle was the most used transport (47%), followed by the airplane (37%). Both means of transport have very similar figures to the previous year ones. As far as internal transport is concerned, within the city of Barcelona, ​​the metro is the most used transport; 2 out of 3 tourists used it. The taxi and the bus maintain similar quotes to the previous year (38% and 28%, respectively).

Independent booking is the most consolidated way to do the trip arrangements in both of the cases; in the city, 78% of tourists, and in the Barcelona region, 72% of tourists.

The most visited places by tourists in the city of Barcelona continue in the same order as the ones in 2016; Las Ramblas (76%), the Gothic Quarter (64%) and Sagrada Familia (61%). These three most outstanding spots are followed by the maritime zone and Passeig de Gràcia. The city is still considered as a good place to walk, even though 4 out of 10 consider that there are too many people in the city to visit it.

The overall rating score of the tourist who visits Barcelona City is 8.8 out of 10. This is almost the same rating as the previous year. The best valued aspects of the city still remain architecture (9.3 out of 10) and culture (8.9 out of 10). On the other hand, the lowest ones, cleanliness (7.8 out of 10) and noise level (6.9 out of 10). The overall rating of tourists staying at the Barcelona region is 8.2 out of 10 and the natural environment and the contact with people were the most valued aspects.

Finally, the level of victimization is very similar to the last year one: around 2% of tourists have been victims of a crime, specifically against their personal safety.

This study has been executed by the Observatori del Turisme a Barcelona, ​​promoted by the Barcelona Regional Council, ​​the Barcelona City Council and Turisme de Barcelona, ​​based on a sample of 12,180 interviews to tourists distributed proportionally throughout 2017 and with a margin of error of minus 2 percentage points.

The Observatori del Turisme a Barcelona, ​​Ciutat i Regió aims to study and create knowledge about Destination Barcelona, ​​formed by the city and its surroundings. The creation of this entity is part of the 2020 Strategic Tourism Plan, which highlights the need to create a tourism observatory that allows the improvement of the destination management and planning, reducing the unwanted effects, improving the residents’ quality of life and the visitors experience.

Look up 2017 profile reports: 

- Results report. Profile and habits of tourists in Barcelona city 2017

- Results report. Profile and habits of tourists in Barcelona surroundings 2017

- Results report. Profile and habits of tourists in Destination Barcelona 2017