In May 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 May:

• 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 170,000 beds were available, which is +0.2% 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 (+1.0% and +3.0%, respectively). Although the two geographical areas of the Barcelona Destination experienced month-on-month growth in overnight stays, some of the types of establishment suffered month-on-month decreases to a lesser or greater extent compared to the previous month.
• The average length of stay in Barcelona city (2.9 nights) kept higher than before the pandemic (+0.3 nights Var. May23/May19). Despite remaining unchanged from the previous month, the length of stay in the Barcelona region (2.6 nights) was still slightly below 2019 (-0.1 nights).
• At Barcelona Airport, 4.5 million passengers were recorded (+6.6% MoM). Thus, the recovery in air traffic kept over 95% compared to the same period in 2019.
• In Barcelona Port, cruise passengers grew by 63.0% MoM and overcame once again those of the same period in 2019 (+20.8%). On the other hand, ferry passengers (-13.4% month-on-month) also were over those registered in May 2019 (+15.4%).
• ICUB cultural facilities received less visitors than in the previous month (-3.2%). This was due to a reduction in the number of international visitors on the previous month.
• Domestic tourists increased their share of hotel establishments in the city of Barcelona (18.7% share and +1.1pp month-on-month), taking the first place in the ranking. The Americans, who recorded a month-on-month increase in arrivals of +47.6%, were not only the internationals with the highest number of arrivals (16.1% share), but also set a new all-time record for the number of monthly arrivals of this market in the city. They were followed by the British (7.5% share), the French (6.7%) and the Germans (6.1%). In Barcelona region, 6 out of 10 tourists were international, meaning an increase on the previous month.
• The average expense during the stay in the destination was €72.8, almost €15 below the previous month, but €5 above the same period in 2019. Although spending in Barcelona city continued to be higher than in Barcelona region (97.6€ vs. 44.9€), it decreased month-on-month (-8.8%), while spending in the region remained fairly stable. Food and beverages continued to be the main item of expenditure.
• Registered unemployment in tourism activity remained below pre-pandemic levels (-15.9%) and indefinite hiring (58.1%) 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.