The Observatory of Tourism in Barcelona updates the Destination Barcelona tourism forecast report as of 13/05/22. 

Covid-19 restrictions

In Catalonia, the use of facemasks in public transport is mandatory.

In Spain, passengers coming from the EU are allowed to enter with a EU Digital COVID certificate. 

Intercontinental passengers from no risk countries are accepted without any certificate. Passengers coming from any other country must present a vaccination or a recovery certificate.

Transportation offer

The forecasts show an increase in the number of seats operated worldwide through the next weeks, altough below prepandemic levels. However, it should be reminded that airlines continue to readjust their flight schedules week after week. In Spain, this week, the air capacity has stood at only -6,1% compared to the same week in 2019. At Barcelona Airport, 164 routes, 37 of them intercontinental, are currently operating.

During the following week, 24 cruise ships are leaving or making a stopover at Barcelona Port. In May about 109 cruises will operate in the city.

Tourist offer and professional events

By the end of March 2022, 352 hotels and 67,695  bed supplies were open in Barcelona city. As for the culture offer, 95.5% of the 89 monitored cultural facilities in Barcelona city are currently open.

There are currently 160 congresses confirmed for the upcoming years, 115 in 2022. In the meanwhile, about 100 applications are open until 2027.

Tourist demand

Over the last week, Google searches from Spain for Barcelona city have increased, while those for Destination Barcelona have slightly decreased. Most of the searches for both geographical areas kept coming from Catalonia.

From 27/04/22 to 05/05/22, the Barcelona flights and accommodation searches achieved their best positioning in France, Italy, Spain and The Netherlands. Destination Barcelona ranked again the 7th in searches of accommodation and the 6th in flights in the ranking of international destinations worldwide.

Finally, from 02/05/22 to 08/05/22, hotel reservations in Barcelona city stood, on average, at 93.6% compared to the series peak, which was in November 2021. These levels were lower than those of the previous week (96.0%). In Barcelona region, bookings stood at 91.1% compared to series peak, which was in April 2022, but lower than those of the previous week, at 97.9%. Concerning their origin, international bookings exceeded domestic ones in Barcelona city (71.9%), while in Barcelona region domestic bookings (55.6%) overcame the internationals. The lead time in Barcelona city stood at 45 days, while in Barcelona region, at 32.9 days.

Destination Barcelona tourism forecast (13/05/22)