Barcelona Airport registers more passengers than before the pandemic

The Barcelona Tourism Observatory: city and region, offers below the main tourism activity monitoring indicators in Barcelona city and Barcelona region for November:

Barcelona city

• Hotels and guesthouses supply have accounted for almost 655 establishments and 85,000 available beds (+2.2% above November 2019).
• Tourists in hotels, guesthouses and homes for tourist use have decreased month-on-month, due to the natural seasonality of tourism activity. However, although the number of tourists has been lower than in November 2019 (-2.7% Var.23/19), an increase in the average stay (+0.3 nights Var.23/19), has caused the overnight stays to grow by +2.5% (Var. 23/19). Homes for tourist use have recorded the highest length of stay (3.8 nights), while hotels and guest houses, 2.5 nights. On the other hand, the bed occupancy rate in homes for tourist use has stood near 50.0%, while in hotel establishments, it has remained over 65%.
• At Barcelona Airport, which for the first time has registered more monthly passengers than before the pandemic (+4.3% Var. 23/19), 3.8 million travellers have been recorded.
• At Barcelona Port, the decrease in the supply of cruise ships in November has caused passenger arrivals to fall by +37.5% month-on-month. Despite this, they have grown by +16.3% if compared to the same month in 2019. Ferry passengers were also lower than in the previous month, but ahead of the same month in 2019 (+16.4%).
• Visitors to the ICUB’s cultural facilities have exceeded the number of visitors recorded in the same period before the pandemic for the second month in a row (+12.3% Var. 23/19). International visitors to these sites have accounted for 6 out of 10.
• Domestic tourists were the most frequent visitors to Barcelona’s hotel establishments (21.5% share).
• The typical tourist in Barcelona city in November¹ has been a 38-year-old person, travelling for leisure (52.2%) and alone (34.8%). The average expenditure during the stay in the city has stood at 83.4€ per person per day, which have been mainly spent on food and drink (49.6%) and culture and entertainment (39.7%).
• Bank card expense in tourist establishments in Barcelona city has remained ahead of those in the previous years. International cards have accounted for a quarter of bank card spending in Barcelona city shops in October.
• Registered unemployment in the tourism activities remained below pre-pandemic levels (-22.5%) and temporary employment has meant more than half of the new hiring (52.3%).

Barcelona region

• Hotels, guesthouses, rural tourism establishments, and campsites have accounted for almost 1,000 available establishments and about 50,000 operational bedplaces, which means a reduction of around 30,000 bedplaces in just one month. However, the number of beds in these types of establishments has been +1.8% higher than in the same period of 2019.
• Tourists staying in these types of establishments have been increased (+10.2% Var. 23/19), and their length of stay has stood at 2.0 nights (as in November 2019), so that the number of overnight stays has grown in a similar way (+11.2% Var. 23/19). By type of establishment, campsites have gained the most overnight stays in relative terms (+18.9% Var.23/19) and they have recorded a higher average length of stay (3.1 nights), while hotel establishments have grown by +11.9% (Var.23/19), with an average length of stay of 1.9 nights. Rural tourism, on the other hand, has recorded a length of stay of 2.0 nights, decreasing its overnight stays too (-21.5% Var. 23/19).
• Almost half of tourists in hotel establishments of Barcelona region have been domestic. 
• The typical tourist in Barcelona region in November¹ has been a 44-year-old person, who has travelled for leisure (54.9%) and who has travelled as a couple (50.0%). Their average expenditure during their stay in the region has been €38.7 per person per day, mainly spent on food and drink (64.9%).
• Registered unemployment in the tourism sector has remained below pre-pandemic levels (-24.1%) and most of new hiring has been permanent (57.4%).

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¹ For more information on the profile and habits of tourists during this summer in Destination Barcelona, please click on the following link. 

Consult the interactive report: