Hiring grows and unemployment decreases in the tourism activity in January

The Barcelona Tourism Observatory: city and region, presents the analysis of the main monthly tourism activity monitoring indicators.

The main conclusions of the January update are presented below by geographical area:

Barcelona city

• Hotels and guesthouses accounted for 648 establishments and more than 84,700 operational beds, below December, but above the previous year (+1.3% Var. 25/24 in beds).
• Demand in hotels, guesthouses, and tourist accommodation (HTUs) decreased compared to the previous month, in terms of overnight stays, due to a reduction of the length of stay (-0,2 nights). Compared year-on-year, the number of tourists increased significantly (+9.0% Var. 25/24). However, the average length of stay was shorter (from 2.9 nights in 2024 to 2.7 in 2025), which meant that the number of overnight stays did not grow so strongly (+1.5% Var. 25/24).
• By type of establishment, the average length of stay was 2.5 nights in hotel establishments and 3.3 in HTUs. On the other hand, hotel occupancy was 52.5% (+0.1pp Var. 25/24), while occupancy in HTUs was 48.8% (-0.1 percentage points Var. 25/24).
• At Barcelona Airport, there were 3.7 million passenger movements, which meant a year-on-year increase of +5.4%. The top countries of origin for passengers flying into Barcelona were, in this order, Spain, Italy, the UK, France, and Germany.
• At Port of Barcelona, there were around 115,000 cruise passenger movements and over 68,000 in ferries. Although this represents a month-on-month decrease due to tourism seasonality, cruise activity increased year-on-year (+1.8% Var. 25/24), while ferry activity remained relatively stable (-0.7% Var. 25/24).
• Regarding the origin of tourists, in hotel establishments, the proportion of international tourists was 78.0%, -1.9% month-on-month. The largest group of tourists in this type of establishment were residents of Spain (22.0% share), followed by those from Italy (7.8%), France (7.6%), and the United States (7.1%).
• The typical tourist in the city of Barcelona¹ during this month was a 34-year-old person who traveled as a couple (38.8%). Those traveling for leisure reasons accounted for 67.5% of the total, followed by those traveling for personal reasons (19.9%). Professional tourists remained on the third position, with 12.6% in January.
• The average expenditure during the stay in the city remained quite stable compared to the previous month, with €92.9 per person per day (-1.5% month-on-month). However, this expenditure was significantly higher than the previous year (+23.3% Var. 25/24).
• Expenditure during the stay in the city was mainly allocated to food and drink (47.1%), followed by 21.7% spent on entertainment, leisure, and culture, and 18.6% on clothing, footwear, and other purchases.
• Regarding the job market, in January, new hiring in the core activity increased, not only month-on-month but year-on-year (+5.1% Var. 25/24), being permanent contracts more frequent than temporary contracts, once again (52.1% vs 47.9%). On the other hand, tourism unemployment was lower the same period in 2024 (-2.7% Var. 25/24).

Barcelona region

• The operational supply of tourist accommodation in the region decreased compared to December due to tourist seasonality, but it remained higher year-on-year, with a total of 762 establishments and over 41,500 operational beds, including hotels, campsites, and rural tourism.
• Tourist demand decreased month-on-month, both in the number of tourists and in overnight stays. However, when looking at the data on a year-over-year basis, both the number of tourists (+16,5% Var. 25/24) and overnight stays (+9.9% Var. 25/24) were higher than the previous year.
• The average length of stay slightly decreased (from 2.2 nights in January 2024 to 2.1 nights in January 2025). By type of accommodation, campsites once again had the longest stays (2.9 nights), followed by hotels (2.0 nights) and rural tourism establishments (1.8 nights). Regarding occupancy rates, campsites recorded 34.1% occupancy (-6.2pp Var. 25/24), while rural tourism establishments reached 11.4% (+1.9pp Var. 25/24).
• 51.7% of tourists in hotel establishments in Barcelona region were international, a higher proportion compared to the previous month (+4.2 pp).
• The typical tourist in the Barcelona region during this month¹ was a person aged 47, who traveled for leisure (46.9%) and as a couple (34.3%). The average expenditure during the stay, €62.5 per person per day, significantly increased month-over-month (+36.5%) and year-on-year (+33.7% Var. 25/24). Taking into account the increase in Barcelona city, the average expense in Destination Barcelona as a whole was €83.1 (+27.6% Var. 25/24).
• Expenditure during the stay in Barcelona region was mainly spent on food and drink (60.3%) and on clothing, footwear, and other purchases (19.6%).
• Hiring in the tourism activity in Barcelona region also increased month-on-month and over January 2025 (+7.1% Var. 25/24), and permanent contracts also outnumbered temporary ones (59.4% vs. 40.6%). Finally, registered unemployment decreased by -3.1% year-on-year.

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

More information:

Summary of tourism activity in Destination Barcelona – January 2025

Tourism activity interactive report