In April 2023, tourism activity in Destination kept growing so that the main accommodation, tourist demand, and expense were above pre-pandemic values, while other monitoring indicators were still below them.

Below are the key indicators of April:

• The number of open bed places in tourist accommodation grew on the previous month, due to the establishments reopening in both Barcelona city and Barcelona region, due to the tourism seasonality. Thus, an average of over 150,000 beds were available, which is +2.3% ahead of the same period in 2019.
• Overnight stays increased month-on-month in the Destination as a whole, overcoming pre-pandemic levels in both Barcelona city and Barcelona region (+2.7% and +10.0%, respectively). All types of accommodation experienced month-on-month growth in overnight stays to a lesser or greater extent, but in percentage terms, the growth in campsites (+161.6%), rural accommodation (79.0%) and hotel establishments in Barcelona region (+50.2%) were particularly noteworthy, showing a higher seasonality in this region than in Barcelona city.
• The average length of stay in Barcelona city (3,1 nights) kept higher than before the pandemic (+0.4 nights Var. Apr23/Apr19). Despite increasing on the previous month (0.4 nights), the length of stay of Barcelona region (2.6 nights) was still slightly below 2019 (-0.1 nights). Noteworthy is that the occupancy rate increased in the Destination as a whole.
• At Barcelona Airport, a month-on-month increase of +11.7% in passengers was recorded, reaching 4.2 million. Thus, the recovery in air traffic kept over 95% compared to the same period in 2019.
• In Barcelona Port, both cruise and ferry passengers grew compared to the previous month. Actually, cruise passengers doubled in just one month, overcoming those of the same period in 2019 (+6.6%). 
• ICUB cultural facilities received considerably more visitors than in the previous month (+27.3%). 3 out of 4 were international, which means a remarkable month-on-month increase in their proportion (+7.9pp).
• Foreign tourism also increased its share in hotel establishments both in Destination Barcelona (72.9% share and +5.5pp month-on-month) and in Barcelona city (82.5% share and +5.6pp month-on-month). In the latter, the Americans (12.0%), were the international that arrived the most, followe by the British (7.6%), the Germans (7.1%), and the Italians (6.8%).
• The average spend during the stay in the Destination was €85.1, almost €6 higher than the previous month, and €15 on April 2019. This increase was possible thanks to the growth in spending in Barcelona city (+17.4% month-on-month), which for the first time in 2023 was over €100. On the other hand, the expense in Barcelona region declined month-on-month (-19.5%) being just over €40. Food and drink was the item in which more money was spent, but shopping for clothes, shoes, souvenirs and other personal effects was the item which grew the most, reaching over 20% of the expense during the stay.
• Registered unemployment in tourism activity remained below pre-pandemic levels (-18.1%) and indefinite hiring (60.6%) once again exceeded temporary hiring 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.