Barcelona’s air capacity will exceed pre-pandemic levels in the last quarter of the year

The Observatory of Tourism in Barcelona updates the Destination Barcelona tourism forecast report as of 26/09/23.

Connectivity at the destination

• International air capacity: The worldwide flight air supply will reach a recovery of 100% compared to prepandemic levels in October, while since November, it will experience a decrease below them.
• Flight offer at Barcelona Airport: Barcelona is currently served by 87 airlines flying to 190 destinations, of which 47 are intercontinental. Over the next months, about 4.8 million seats will be offered monthly, which is +17.8% ahead last year and just -1.1% behind pre-pandemic levels. In fact, capacity in November and December will be higher than in the same period 4 years ago. Level has announced an increase in the frequency and capacity of its connections from Barcelona to the United States, Chile and Argentina, as well as a new destination in April 2024 (Miami).
• Cruises at Port de Barcelona: almost 100 cruise ships are expected to arrive in Barcelona in October.

Agenda

• Culture and leisure events: Destination Barcelona will continue hosting musical events in October, such as some major concerts at Palau Sant Jordi. In the sporting area, it is worth highlighting the holding of several football and basketball matches (some of them with international visitor teams), one event at the Circuit de Barcelona – Catalunya, the Salomon Ultra Pirineu race and other races.
• Professional events and trade fairs: 25 confirmed congresses have been confirmed for the upcoming month, which could attract up to 60,000 attendees. The major events will be: the 36th ECNP Congress 2023 (8,000 delegates) and the CPHI Barcelona (40,000 delegates).

Interest for the destination

• Online search trends: Over last weeks, searches for both Barcelona city and Destination Barcelona have ben ahead of those registered in the same period of 2022.
• Positioning of the destination in online searches: Over the last month, Destination Barcelona has ranked the 7th in the ranking of international destinations for both accommodation searches and flight searches.

   

Accommodation demand forecast

• Seasonality and hotel bookings lead time: Over the last weeks, hotel bookings for Barcelona city have been lower than in the same period of 2022, while in Barcelona region, higher. The lead time for bookings made in September has stood at 49.5 days in Barcelona city and 27.8 days in Barcelona region, so that it has decreased in both geographical areas MoM.
• Origin and travel group: International bookings in September have exceeded domestic bookings in Barcelona city (70,2%), while in Barcelona region, domestic bookings have been the most frequent (66.9%). In Barcelona city, bookings from the United States (14.6%) were the most frequent international bookings, while those from France (14.6%) were the most frequent in Barcelona region. More than half of the bookings were made for travelling as a couple.
• Level of bookings: Currently, the level of bookings for the next quarter is above the level recorded last year in both Barcelona city and Barcelona region, particularly for stays in October. The US market in Barcelona city and the Spanish market in Barcelona region are the ones with the highest levels of bookings for this period.
• Length of stay: The average length of stay for bookings between October and December is 3.5 nights in Barcelona city and 3.7 nights in Barcelona region.
• Benchmark: Barcelona city and Barcelona region are, respectively, in the third and the last position in the ranking of hotel bookings of European destinations analysed for stays during the next three months. Both, the volume of bookings and the ADR in Barcelona city is behind of Madrid’s, while the average length of stay is higher.

Destination Barcelona Tourism Forecast report (26/09/23)