Destination Barcelona expects nearly 50,000 congress attendees in November

The Observatory of Tourism in Barcelona updates the Destination Barcelona tourism forecast report as of 31/10/23.

Connectivity at the destination

• International air capacity: The global flight schedule for the coming weeks shows slightly lower levels than the same period in 2019, around 105 million seats per week.
• Flight offer at Barcelona Airport: Barcelona is currently served by 84 airlines flying to 172 destinations, 44 of which are intercontinental. Over the next months, about 4.6 million seats will be offered monthly, which is +18.7% ahead last year and just -2.0% behind the 2019-2020 winter season. Delta has announced an increase in the frequency of its connection from Barcelona to New Work JFK.
• Cruises at Port de Barcelona: near 75 cruise ships are expected to arrive in Barcelona in November.

Agenda

• Culture and leisure events: Destination Barcelona will continue hosting musical events in November, such as some major concerts at Palau Sant Jordi. In the culture area, many audiovisual festivals will take place and, in the sporting, 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 and, many races, such the Jean Bouin. 23/11 will kick off the Christmas season with the Christmas lights switch-on in Barcelona.
• Professional events and trade fairs: 19 confirmed congresses have been confirmed for the upcoming month, which could attract near 50,000 attendees. The major events will be: the Smart City Expo World Congress / Tomorrow Mobility World Congress 2023 (20.000 attendees) and the IBTM World 2023 (15.000 attendees).

Interest for the destination

• Online search trends: Over last weeks, searches for Barcelona city have ben ahead of those registered in the same period of 2022, while those for Destination Barcelona, behind.
• Positioning of the destination in online searches: Over the last month, Destination Barcelona has ranked the 10th in the ranking of international destinations for accommodation searches and 8th for flight searches.
   

Accommodation demand forecast

• Seasonality and hotel bookings lead time: Over the last weeks, hotel bookings for Barcelona city have recorded a similar level than the same period of 2022, while those for Barcelona region, have been higher. The lead time for bookings made in October has stood at 51.5 days in Barcelona city and 36.1 days in Barcelona region, so that it has increased in both geographical areas MoM.
• Origin and travel group: International bookings in October have exceeded domestic bookings in Barcelona city (67.2%), while in Barcelona region, domestic bookings have been the most frequent (69.4%). In Barcelona city, bookings from the United States (11.8%) were the most frequent international bookings, while those from France (8.8%) 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 November. 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 November 2023 and Desember 2024 is 3.4 nights in both areas, Barcelona city and 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 much higher.

Destination Barcelona Tourism Forecast report (31/10/23)