7 out of 10 online reviews of Barcelona city’s tourist attractions score more than 9 out of 10

Vivential Value and the OTB present the results report of the online tourism reputation monitor (iRON®) for the city of Barcelona 2023 with the aim of quantifying and analysing the aggregate rating of accommodation, restaurants and tourist attractions in the tourist destination, based on the ratings published by users of a selection of the main online tourism platforms.

The study, which collects data from a sample of more than 7 million opinions of more than 19,000 tourist resources in the city, compares the results obtained in 2018 (the last year of analysis in this geographical area) and those of 2023.

These are the main results obtained in this edition:

• The more than 3 million new reviews since 2018 have led to the volume of online reviews growing by +76.6% in these years. This is basically due to the increase of reviews on tourist attractions, which have increased by 2.5 million new listings.
• 3 out of every 4 reviews are registered in areas of high affluence (EGAs), that is, those places of the city defined by the City Council as areas that concentrate a greater intensity of tourist activity. The EGAs with the highest volume of opinions are, in this order, the Gothic Quarter, San Pere, Santa Caterina and La Ribera and Vila de Gràcia.
• The tourist experience in Barcelona city obtained an overall iRON® score of 8.64 out of 10, which means an improvement of 0.12 points out of 10 compared to 2018.
• By category, accommodation and restaurants scored very similarly (8.25 and 8.27, respectively), while attractions, 58% of which are cultural, stand out with a rating close to 9. In fact, 7 out of 10 opinions on the platforms analysed rate the resources in this category as excellent.
• All categories improved their scores, but at different degrees: while restaurants recorded a more limited increase in the index (+0.01 points), tourist attractions and accommodation experienced the greatest growth (+0.08 and +0.14 points, respectively).
• The most highly rated dimension of the accommodation was its location, followed by the staff. Price, on the other hand, was the lowest rated.
• In restaurants, the most highly rated dimension was the food, while price again showed a more moderate score.
• Sports attractions received the highest score (9.11), followed by cultural attractions (9.05). On the other hand, the beaches and nightlife, scored the lowest (8,50 and 8.29, respectively).
• The report concludes with the online reputation index of 170 points of tourist interest (PITs) specially selected for a more specific analysis. These places themselves have accumulated more than 3.2 million opinions and a rating of 8.96 points out of 10.
• The 10 PITs with the highest volume of opinions online are, in this order, Sagrada Família, Park Güell, Camp Nou, the Boqueria Market, La Pedrera-Casa Milà, the Arc de Triomf, and Barcelona Cathedral. These resources have 1.7 million reviews and a rating over the average, which favours the iRON’s final result.

More information: Report on the results of the online tourism reputation monitor (iRON®) – Barcelona city (in Catalan)