Destination Barcelona to host the start of la Vuelta a España in August

The Observatory of Tourism in Barcelona updates the Destination Barcelona tourism forecast report as of 25/07/23.

Connectivity at the destination

• International air capacity: The worldwide flight air supply will reach a recovery of 100% compared to prepandemic levels in the upcoming 3 months.
• Flight offer at Barcelona Airport: Barcelona is currently served by 88 airlines flying to 200 destinations, of which 51 are intercontinental. Over the next 3 months, more than 5 million seats will be offered monthly, which is +7.5% more seats than last year and -9.7% below pre-pandemic levels.
• Cruises at Port de Barcelona: 75 cruise ships are expected to arrive in Barcelona in August in Barcelona.

Agenda

• Culture and leisure events: Destination Barcelona will continue hosting musical events in August, including music festivals such as the Festival d’ARTS d’Estiu in Pineda de Mar and the Jardins de Terramar in Sitges. Some of the most popular local festivals will also take place. As for the sports events, the football season will kick off and Barcelona will be the starting point for the Vuelta a España cycling race, which will also take place in several towns of Barcelona region.
• Professional events and trade fairs: Although the trade fair and congress activity will practically come to a halt in August, there are currently 85 congresses confirmed for the upcoming years, 49 of which in 2023. In the meanwhile, about 100 applications are open until 2027.

Interest for the destination

• Online search trends: Over last weeks, searches for both Barcelona city and Destination Barcelona have followed an upward trend.
• Positioning of the destination in online searches: Over the last month, Destination Barcelona has climberd to the 6th position in the ranking of international destinations for accommodation searches and it has maintained the 8th, for flights.
   

Accommodation demand forecast

• Seasonality and hotel bookings lead time: Over the last weeks, hotel bookings for both Barcelona city and Barcelona region have been, on the whole, higher than in the same period of 2022. The lead time for bookings made in July has stood at 55.2 days in Barcelona city and 38.1 days in Barcelona region, so that it has increased in both geographical areas.
• Origin and travel group: International bookings in July have exceeded domestic bookings in Barcelona city (71.9%), while in Barcelona region, domestic bookings have been the most frequent (59.5%). In Barcelona city, bookings from the United States (15.6%) were the most frequent international bookings, while those from France (13.1%) were the most frequent in the Barcelona region. Almost half of the bookings made were 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 Barcelona city. In Barcelona region, however, August bookings remain slightly lower than last year for the same period, while September and October bookings are higher. 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 August and October is 3.8 nights in Barcelona city and 4.1 nights in the Barcelona region.
• Benchmark: Barcelona city and Barcelona region are, respectively, in the first and the last position in the ranking of hotel bookings of European destinations analysed for stays during the next three months. The volume of bookings, the ADR, and the length of stay of bookings for Madrid are below of that of Barcelona city.

Destination Barcelona Tourism Forecast report (25/07/23)