In October 2021, the tourist activity in Destination Barcelona has increased if compared to September, mainly in Barcelona city. Despite the Covid-19 global situation, of particular concern in Europe, the activity has been much higher than in 2020 and the differences in demand compared to 2019 have shortened to around -30%.

During October, the hotel accommodation in Barcelona city has kept increasing (+5.1% MoM). On the contrary, Destination Barcelona has lost almost 10,000 bed places (-7.0% MoM), mainly due to the closure of some campsites and hotel establishments in Barcelona region after the summer. However, it should be noted that global capacity is now only -16.3% below 2019.

In October, the tourism demand has been higher in the whole of the Destination, if we compare it to the previous month, particularly thanks to the hotel establishments of Barcelona city, where the annual record has been recorded. Thus, the overnight stays in there have been -31,6% and the rooms occupancy only -14,8pp (var. 21/19). On the other hand, overnight stays in Homes for Tourist Use in the city have grown by +19.3% (MoM), which means -16.6% less than in 2019.

Nevertheless, in Barcelona region, the hotel establishments have recorded a MoM loss in overnight stays (-5.9%) and they keep being the most affected by the pandemic: while in October their overnights have stayed -49.3% behind 2019, in campsites and rural tourism dwellings, they have respectively grown by +21,0% and +24,4%.

In Barcelona Airport, 2.7 million passengers have arrived in October, almost 3 times more than in 2020, yet -42.2% behind 2019. Meanwhile, in Barcelona port, ​​the arrival of cruise ship passengers has increased to 182,000, a significant MoM increase (+84.6%) and almost half the level of the same period in 2019. By contrast, the arrival of ferry passengers has been halved to 80,000 (Var. 21/19: -5.8%).

As for the cultural facilities visitors of the city of Barcelona in October, they have increased by +15% (MoM), mainly thanks to the growth of international visitors. However, it must be noted that the figures are still about -40% behind pre-pandemic levels.

International tourism has remained over domestic tourism in Destination Barcelona (63.8% in hotel establishments), because of the high prevalence of foreign tourists in Barcelona city (73.6%). As for international tourism in the city, French tourists have been the most (10.8% of share and +17.9 MoM), followed by the Americans (7.5% of share and +18.6% of share).

At Barcelona Airport, the arrival of passengers on domestic flights (36.2%) has been lower than the internationals (63.8%). With accumulated data from January to October, passengers traveling from Italy have achieved the second position, followed by the French and the Germans.

Regarding the economic impact of tourism in Barcelona city, purchases with bank cards in the city shops also show how the tourist activity has kept increasing so that in October, they have been around +9% over 2019, while in September, they were -2% behind. The proportion of international cards has also continued growing. On the other hand, the expense during the stay per person in the Destination as a whole has fallen to €386.1 (-8.7% MoM).

Finally, the tourism activity in the job market has kept improving in October: the hiring has increased (mainly temporary contracts) and the registered unemployment has remained quite stable and keeps being, for the second consecutive month, lower than pre-pandemic levels (-12.1% compared to 2019).

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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 on the Latest data section: