In January 2023, tourism activity in Destination continued to approach pre-pandemic levels, despite decreasing due to the tourism seasonal nature of the activity.

Below are the key indicators of January:

• The number of tourist accommodation establishments decreased in the Destination as a whole (-6.9%), yet bed places kept virtually stable (-0,8%). Thus, an average of 130,000 beds were available in January, which is +4.0% ahead of the same period in 2019.
• Tourists and overnight stays also fell month-on-month due to seasonality in Destination Barcelona. Although this was more evident in Barcelona region than in Barcelona city, overnight stays in Barcelona region were higher than in the same period of 2019 (+6.8%), while in Barcelona city, slightly lower (-0.5%). All types of establishment experienced month-on-month decreases in overnight stays to a lesser or greater extent, but it should be noted that, with the exception of the hotel establishments in Barcelona city, all of them exceeded pre-pandemic figures.
• The average length of stay remained stable at 2.4 nights compared to December and grew by +0.1 nights compared to the same period of 2019 in Destination Barcelona. In Barcelona city, the length of stay was longer than in Barcelona region (2.9 nights vs. 2.1 nights).
• At Barcelona Airport, more than 3.3 million passengers were registered, but seasonality made that demand was reduced by -6.8%, so air traffic recovery remained over 90% compared to the same period in 2019. Meanwhile in Port of Barcelona, cruise and ferry passengers also experienced a month-on-month decrease. However, in the first case, this meant only -1.3% behind January 2019, and in the second case, +12.6% ahead.
• The ICUB's cultural facilities, which remained close to -20.0% of pre-pandemic activity, also received fewer visitors than the previous month (-1.7%), but they maintained the proportion of international visitors of 6 out of 10.
• International tourism continued to be the most numerous in both Destination Barcelona (72.6%) and Barcelona city (72.6%). In the latter, the French (7.8%) were the internationals who registered the most arrivals, followed by the Italians (7.4%) and the Americans (5.8%).
• At Barcelona Airport, the passengers arriving on domestic flights (29.0%) remained in first place of the ranking of passengers by country of origin. Passengers from Italy (10.5%) followed by the United Kingdom (8.1%) and France (7.1%), remained the second in the ranking. 
• The average expenditure during the stay in the Destination was €67.0, almost €6 below the previous month. By territorial area, Barcelona region recorded a -21.9% month-on-month fall in spending, while the expense in Barcelona city was virtually the same. The item on which the most money was spent was food and drink, followed by entertainment, leisure and culture. In any case, it is worth noting that the Destination as a whole registered a +12.4% year-on-year growth in spending. Food and drink was the most popular item, followed by the purchase of clothing, footwear, souvenirs and personal effects, which regained second place.
• As for the job market, registered unemployment in tourism activity remained below pre-pandemic levels (-22.7%) and permanent contracts (52.8%) once again exceeded temporary contracts in Destination Barcelona as a whole.

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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: