Destination Barcelona to host a wide number of sporting events in March

The Observatory of Tourism in Barcelona updates the Destination Barcelona tourism forecast report as of 28/02/23.

Connectivity at the destination

• International air capacity: The worldwide flight air supply shows a recovery between 94% and 96% for the upcoming 3 months, compared to prepandemic levels.
• Flight offer at Barcelona Airport: Barcelona is currently served by 65 airlines flying to 155 destinations, of which 37 are intercontinental.
• Cruises at Port de Barcelona: 32 cruise ships are expected to arrive in Barcelona in March.

Agenda

• Culture and leisure events: Destination Barcelona will stand out in March for hosting a large number of sports events, including the FCB – Real Madrid match, FCB Feminine’s Champions League match against Roma Femminile at Camp Nou, the Vuelta Ciclista de Cataluña and the 44th Zurich Marató de Barcelona.
• Professional events: There are currently 132 congresses confirmed for the upcoming years, 107 of which in 2023. In the meanwhile, about 100 applications are open until 2027. In March, major professional events such as the IoT Solutions World Congress 2023 (27/02/23-02/02/23), the Mobile World Congress Barcelona 2023 (27/02/23-02/03/23), and the Photo Forum Fest (15/03/23-17/03/23) will take place in Destination Barcelona.

Interest for the destination

• Online search trends: Over last month, Google searches have slightly increased for Barcelona city, while for Destination Barcelona, a small decline has been observed. 
• Positioning of the destination in online searches: Over the last month, Destination Barcelona has ranked 9th in the ranking of international destinations for accommodation searches and 7th, for flights. This is an improvement on the positioning achieved in the previous month.

Accommodation demand forecast

• Seasonality and hotel bookings lead time: Over the last month, hotel bookings for both Barcelona city and Barcelona region have slightly decreased. The lead time for bookings made in Februrary was 60 days in Barcelona city and 54 days in Barcelona region.
• Origin and travel group: International bookings in February have exceeded domestic bookings in Barcelona city (68.7%), while in Barcelona region, domestic bookings have been the most frequent (57.5%). More than half of the bookings made are for travelling as a couple.
• Dates and length of stay: Currently, the level of bookings for the upcoming 3 months is above the level recorded last year. The average length of stay for bookings from March to May is at the same level of the same period last year: 3.5 nights in Barcelona city, and 3.2 nights in Barcelona region. 
• Benchmark: Barcelona city and Barcelona region are, respectively, in the second and the eigth position in the ranking of hotel bookings of European destinations analysed for stays during the next three months. The volume of bookings for Madrid is slightly over that of Barcelona city, while the average ADR for Barcelona city, is the other way around.

   

Destination Barcelona tourism forecast (28/02/23)