Barcelona records more monthly visitors to cultural facilities in October than before the pandemic for the first time

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

Barcelona city

• Hotels and guesthouses supply have accounted for 665 establishments and almost 86,000 available beds (+2.9% above October 2019).
• Tourists in hotels, guesthouses and homes for tourist use have increased, not only month-on-month, but above the same period in 2019 (+1.3%). This fact, together with an increase in the average stay (+0.1 nights Var.23/19), has caused the overnight stays to grow by +4.8% (Var. 23/19). Homes for tourist use have recorded the highest length of stay (3.5 nights), while hotels and guest houses, 2.6 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 70%.
• At Barcelona Airport, almost the same number of passengers than in the previous month have been recorded (4.6 million), only -1.3% behind October 2019.
• At Barcelona Port, the increase in the supply of cruise ships in October has caused passenger arrivals to rise by +13.2% month-on-month and, compared to the same month in 2019, by +23.4%. Ferry passengers were lower than in the previous month, but also increased on 2019 (+22.6%).
• Visitors to the ICUB’s cultural facilities have grown month-on-month (+3.9%), and for the first time, they have exceeded the number of visitors recorded in the same period before the pandemic (+1.2% Var. 23/19). International visitors to these venues have accounted for 7 out of 10.
• Domestic tourists were the most frequent visitors to Barcelona’s hotel establishments (17.4% share), followed by the Americans (14.7%), the British (6.9%) and the French (6.0%). They were followed by the German and the Italian, with over 5% share each.
• The typical tourist in Barcelona city in October¹ has been a 37-year-old person, travelling for leisure (67.7%) as a couple (38.8%). The average expenditure during the stay in the city has stood at 87.5€ per person per day, which have been mainly spent on food and drink (50.8%), culture and entertainment (20.1%) and shopping for clothes, footwear, souvenirs and personal effects (15.8%).
• 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 (-19.1%) and temporary employment has meant more than half of the new hiring (50.2%).

Barcelona region

• Hotels, guesthouses, rural tourism establishments, and campsites have accounted for almost 1,100 available establishments and more than 79,000 operational bedplaces, which means a reduction of around 15,000 bedplaces in just one month. However, the number of beds in these types of establishments has been +5.9% higher than in the same period of 2019.
• Tourists staying in these types of establishments have been increased (+14.2% Var. 23/19), and their length of stay has stood at 2.7 nights (as in October 2019), so that the number of overnight stays has grown in a similar way (+15.8% Var. 23/19). By type of establishment, campsites have gained the most overnight stays in relative terms (+51.9% Var.23/19) and they have recorded a higher average length of stay (3.6 nights), while rural tourism has grown by +14.1% (Var.23/19), with an average length of stay of 2.1 nights. Hotel establishments, on the other hand, have recorded an length of stay of 2.6 nights, increasing their overnight stays too (+11.1% Var. 23/19).
• 4 out of every 10 tourists in hotel establishments of Barcelona region have been domestic. 
• The typical tourist in Barcelona region in October¹ has been a 45.2-year-old person, who has travelled for leisure (51.4%) and who has travelled as a couple (50.9%). Their average expenditure during their stay in the region has been €42.8 per person per day, mainly spent on food and drink (65.9%) and shopping for clothes, footwear, souvenirs and personal effects (16.6%).
• Registered unemployment in the tourism sector has remained below pre-pandemic levels (-21.5%) and most of new hiring has been permanent (57.3%).

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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: