In December 2021, the tourist activity in Destination Barcelona has slightly increased if compared to November, despite the irruption of Omicron in Spain, and thanks to the growth of domestic overnight stays which, only in hotel establishments, were +6,7% over those of December 2019. Besides, the activity remained higher than in 2020 and the differences in demand remained -22% behind 2019, taking into account the overnight stays in the Destination’s analysed accommodation.

In December, the accommodation offer in Barcelona city kept increasing (+3.2% MoM). On the contrary, in Destination Barcelona the number of bed places kept virtually stable (-0.1% MoM), after many months of closures of many campsites and hotel establishments in Barcelona region, caused by the low season arrival. The global capacity in Destination Barcelona was only -9.7% below 2019.

In December, the tourism demand slightly grew (+2.7% MoM), thanks to the increase of overnight stays in Barcelona city (+15.1%). In the Catalan capital city, although in hotel establishments the overnight stays were lower than in November (-13.0%), in homes for tourist use, they grew by +30.0% MoM. Thus, the total overnight stays in the city were 70.000 over those registered during the previous month.

In Barcelona region, the tourism demand was slightly lower than in the previous month in hotel establishments (-5.6%) and in campsites (-1.5%), while in rural tourism dwellings, it was higher (+27.9).

At Barcelona Airport, 2.3 million passengers arrived in December, which meant a -3.7%-MoM fall, and -38.5% behind 2019.

As for the cultural facilities visitors in Barcelona city, the visitors decreased once again, and stayed about -20% behind pre-pandemic levels.

The increase of domestic tourism in December (+15.2% MoM in hotel establishments) was opposed to the decrease of international tourism (-21,8%). However, international tourism remained over the national in the whole of the Destination (56.2%), because of the high prevalence of foreign tourists in Barcelona city (63.4%), where their proportion was also reduced (-22.5% MoM). Despite all of this, in Barcelona city, French tourists continued being predominant (12.4% of share and -0.8% MoM), followed by the Americans (-20.1% MoM) and the Italians (-23.6% MoM), with 5.9% and 5.6% of share, respectively. They were followed by the Germans, with a 4.0%-share but a -23.3%-MoM loss.

At Barcelona Airport, the arrival of passengers on domestic flights (35.7%) was lower than the international passengers (64.3%), although their proportion increased +1.6pp compared to November. With cumulative data from January to December, passengers traveling from Italy maintained the second position, followed by the French, the Germans, and the British.

Regarding the economic impact of tourism in Barcelona city in December, purchases with bank cards in the city shops also show how the tourist activity remained stable in catering services, while it lightly decreased in accommodation. The proportion of international cards was also reduced. On the other hand, the expense during the stay per person in the Destination increased to €399.5 (+10.8% MoM).

Finally, the tourism activity job market kept improving in December: registered unemployment continued falling, and for the fourth consecutive month, it was lower than pre-pandemic levels (-17.2% compared to 2019). However, the new hiring decreased over the previous month.

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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: