French tourism remains the leading international market in Barcelona city in February

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

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

Barcelona city

• Hotels and guesthouses accounted for 665 establishments and more than 85,000 operational beds, exceeding both January and the same month of the previous year (+1.0% Var. 25/24 in bedplaces).
• Demand for hotels, guesthouses, and Homes for Tourist Use (HTUs) increased compared to the previous month in terms of overnight stays, due to the effect of tourism seasonality. However, when compared year-over-year, despite the number of tourists increasing (+6.9% Var. 25/24), the average length of stay was shorter (from 3.0 nights in 2024 to 2.7 in 2025), leading to a decline in overnight stays (-4.0% Var. 25/24).
• By type of accommodation, the average stay was 2.4 nights in hotel establishments and 3.4 nights in HTUs. Meanwhile, the occupancy rate in hotels was 60.7% (-1.1 pp Var. 25/24), while in HTUs, it was 60.4% (+1.2 pp Var. 25/24).
• At Barcelona Airport, there were 3.8 million passenger movements, meaning a +2.8% year-over-year increase. The ranking of countries from which passengers arrived on flights to Barcelona Airport was led by Spain, followed by Italy, the United Kingdom, France, and Germany.
• At Barcelona Port, there were nearly 92,500 cruise passenger movements and almost 58,000 ferry passenger movements. Although this represents a month-over-month decrease due to cruise seasonality, cruise passenger movements grew year-over-year (+23.3% Var. 25/24), while ferry passenger movements remained relatively stable (-0.9% Var. 25/24).
• Regarding the origin of tourists, in hotel establishments, the proportion of international visitors was 78.2%, nearly the same as the previous month. The ranking of tourists in this type of accommodation was led by residents of Spain (21.8% share), followed, as usual in February, by residents of France (8.1%). The United States (7.2%) and the United Kingdom (7.0%) completed the top of the ranking of international source markets.
• The typical tourist in Barcelona during this month was a 35-year-old traveler, most commonly visiting with a partner (37.7%). Those traveling for leisure accounted for 63.8% of the total, followed by business travelers (28.0%) and those traveling for personal reasons (8.2%).
• The average expenditure during the stay in the city increased slightly compared to the previous month, reaching €97.9 per person per day (+5.5% month-over-month). However, this expenditure was lower than the previous year (-15.6% Var. 25/24).
• Spending during the stay in the city was primarily allocated to food and beverages (48.5%), followed by entertainment, leisure, and culture (20.2%), and clothing, footwear, and other shopping (15.9%).
• Regarding the labor market, in February, new hiring in the core tourism sector declined slightly compared to both the previous month and the previous year (-10.9% Var. 25/24). However, permanent contracts in the city outnumbered temporary ones (55.8% vs. 44.2%), and registered unemployment in the tourism activity was lower than in the same period in 2024 (-3.4% Var. 25/24).

Barcelona region

• The operational supply of tourist accommodation in Barcelona region increased year-on-year due to the effect of tourism seasonality. However, including hotel establishments, campsites, and rural tourism, fewer places were open (48,000) than in the same period of the previous year (-3.2% Var. 25/24).
• Tourist demand also grew month-on-month due to seasonality, but when analyzing year-on-year data, the number of tourists remained almost stable (+0.3% YoY change 25/24), and the number of overnight stays decreased (-8.2% Var. 25/24). This was due to a reduction in the average length of stay, which dropped from 2.3 nights in February 2024 to 2.1 nights in February 2025.
• By accommodation type, campsites were again those with the longest stays (2.9 nights), followed by rural and hotel establishments (2.0 nights in both cases). Regarding occupancy, campsites recorded 46.5% of occupancy (+3.2 pp Var. 25/24), and rural tourism establishments recorded 14.9% (-1.0pp Var. 25/24).
• 47.3% of tourists in hotel establishments in Barcelona region were international, a proportion slightly lower than the previous month (-2.4pp).
• The typical tourist in Barcelona region during this month¹ was a 47-year-old individual who traveled for leisure (45.8%) and as a couple (39.1%). The average expenditure during the stay was €51.7 per person per day, which decreased significantly compared to the previous month (-17.3%) but increased year-over-year (+14.5% Var. 25/24). Taking into account spending in Barcelona city, the average expense in Destination Barcelona was €84.6 (-9.3% Var. 25/24).
• Expenditure during the stay in the Barcelona region was mainly allocated to food and beverages (60.7%) and shopping for clothing, footwear, and other items (15.2%).
• Employment in the tourism activity in Barcelona region grew slightly compared to the previous month but declined year-over-year (-9.2% Var. 25/24). Nevertheless, permanent contracts continued to outnumber temporary ones (59.7% vs. 40.3%), and registered unemployment decreased by -3.4% year-over-year.

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

More information:

Summary of tourism activity in Destination Barcelona – February 2025

Tourism activity interactive report