• The most valued aspects of Destination Barcelona municipalities have been the accommodation (8.42), the character and kindness of the local people (8.40), and the public transport (8.11).
• The international tourists (8.72) and those who travel for leisure reasons (8.66) are those who value the best the Destination municipalities in general.
• 87.8% of residents of Barcelona region believe that tourism is rather beneficial for their county.
• The number of tourism companies has fallen by -10.8% in 2020 and it has represented 14.2% of the total business network of Destination Barcelona.
• In 2020, the number of tourism companies that have been distinguished in the Commitment for Biosphere Tourism Sustainability has increased to 663 (+45.4%).

The OTB has released the third capsule of the 2020 Barcelona Tourism Activity Report with information on the tourists’ evaluation, the citizens’ opinion, the job market, and the sustainability in Destination Barcelona. The report provides data about the three geographical levels that the OTB covers: Barcelona city, Barcelona region, and Destination Barcelona.

Tourists’ evaluation

The tourists' general evaluation of the Destination Barcelona municipalities has reached a score of 8.51 out of 10 in 2020. In Barcelona city, which has the highest score, the overall rating has been 8.71. However, in these two geographical areas, there is a slight decrease in the tourists’ assessment compared to the previous year, while in Barcelona region (8.32), it has improved.

Almost half of the aspects that are valued in the Destination have been rated over 8. The most valued aspects are the accommodation (8.42), the character and kindness of the local people (8.40), and the public transport (8.11). On the other hand, the aspects with lower scores keep being the noise (7.34) and the accessibility (7.69).

As for Barcelona city, the best-considered attributes are maintained as the architecture (9.23) and the culture (8.84). The least valued aspects in area are the noise (6.82) and the general cleanliness (7.50).

In Barcelona region, noteworthy is the increase in the evaluation of the accommodation (8.48) and the natural environment (8.34), which stand on the second and third positions of the ranking, while the character and kindness of people (8.52) remain in the first position.

In general, the international tourists are those who give the best scores in all the aspects, while if analyzed by travel purpose, tourists traveling for leisure reasons have consistently given higher ratings than those who travel for personal or professional reasons.

Citizens’ opinion

In Barcelona region most of the inhabitants think that tourism is rather beneficial for their region (87.8%) and that promoting the tourism activity should be continued (83.8%), although 1 in 3 thinks that their county is reaching the limit of its capacity to absorb tourism.

The economic contribution generated by the tourist activity is the positive attribute that has been the most appreciated by residents (68.9%), while overtourism (23.5%), the most negative one.

Job market

Due to the effects of Covid-19, a reduction in both the number of companies (-10.8%) and the number of workers (-10.5%) of the tourist activity in Destination Barcelona has been experienced in 2020. In the latter case, it should be borne in mind that this reduction does not take into account workers that have been included in temporary lay-off plans (ERTOs), so the fall could have been even more pronounced.

In Barcelona city, the loss of companies and employees in tourism has been more important than in Barcelona region. Also in Barcelona city, the proportion of tourism is higher than in Barcelona region (14.7% of the companies and 12.5% of the employees).

As for the hiring, in the first two months of the year, its volume was similar to 2019, but from the beginning of the state of alarm in March and especially in Barcelona city, it fell at much lower levels. On the other hand, registered unemployment was inversely proportional to the hiring, although with less remarkable differences compared to the previous year, thanks to the effect of the lay-off plans (ERTOs).

Sustainability

This year, several indicators related to tourism sustainability in Destination Barcelona have been calculated for the three usual geographical levels. These indicators respond to 3 axes of sustainability (environmental, socio-cultural, and economic) and address various issues such as pollution, mobility, tourist pressure, citizens’ satisfaction, public safety, seasonality, the economic impact of tourism or employment. Due to the cross-cutting nature of the issues that impact the sustainability of the tourism activity, some of these indicators already appear in other chapters of this report, the results of which have to be interpreted in the unique context of 2020.

As for the certifications and distinctions in tourism sustainability, it must be noted that the number of companies with the Biosphere Certificate went from 19 to 23 during 2020 (+ 21.1%).

On the other hand, 663 companies and services reached the "Biosphere Tourism Sustainability Commitment" distinction (+45.4%). By typology, accommodation companies were 1 in 3 and, by region, Barcelonès (34.5%), Maresme (11.5%), and Garraf (9.2%) were the most represented.

More information: Barcelona tourism activity report 2020