Hotel bookings spread over the coming months thanks to a series of events

The Barcelona Tourism Observatory: city and region publishes the outbound markets report for the fourth quarter of 2023.  Various public and school holidays in the main source markets will distribute tourist arrivals in Destination Barcelona until December. In addition, congresses such as the CPHI Barcelona (24/10 – 26/10, 40,000 delegates), the Smart City Expo (07/11-09/11, 20,000 delegates) and the IBTM World (28/11-30/11, 15,000 delegates) will help spread visitors over these three months.

As a new feature, this edition of the outbound markets report is presented in an interactive report.

The main conclusions of the report, by source market, are detailed below.

 

Germany

• The German cities with the highest volume of air passengers from/to Barcelona Airport keep being Frankfurt, Munich, and Berlin.
• During the fourth quarter of 2023, there will be school holidays from 23/10 to 29/10 and for Christmas, from 23/12 to 31/12.
• The region showing the greatest interest in Barcelona city over the last 90 days was Saarland. The most popular search terms kept being the weather and Sagrada Familia.
• The Destination ranked 14^th in internet searches for accommodation and 5^th for flights in the ranking of international destinations. This last positioning has been lower than that of the last inbound markets report.
• The level of hotel bookings for the fourth quarter of 2023 from Germany is higher that the same period in 2022 for Barcelona city and lower, for Barcelona region. In the first case, bookings for November stand out.
• Germans have booked, for these dates, an average of more than 3 months in advance. Stays will be around 3.8 nights in Barcelona city and 4.3, in Barcelona region, which means a reduction on the length of stay of the third quarter. Travelling as a couple will be the most frequent in Barcelona city, and as a solo, in the region.
• The level of hotel bookings in Barcelona city and Barcelona region is below the average of bookings for other international European destinations (excluding Berlin)

 

Spain

• The Spanish cities with the highest volume of air passengers from/to Barcelona Airport are Palma de Mallorca, Madrid and Ibiza.
• During the fourth quarter of 2023, school holidays will be in December (06/12 – 08/12 and from 22/12).
• The region that has shown the greatest interest in Destination Barcelona over the last 90 days has been Catalonia. The most popular search terms were Sagrada Familia, the beaches, the weather, the parks, Castelldefels, and several Garraf and Maresme destinations.
• During the same period of analysis, the Destination has maintained the 2^nd position in internet searches for flights, within the ranking of national and international destinations. On the other hand, in the accommodation category, it has dropped one position to 3rd.
• The level of hotel bookings for the fourth quarter of 2023 from Spain is ahead of the same period of 2022 in both Barcelona city and Barcelona region. It must be reminded that Spain stands as thi first source market in volume for stays in the next few months in Barcelona region, and the second, in Barcelona city. 
• Spaniards have booked, for these dates, an average of more than 3 months in advance. Stays will be around 2.5 nights long, which means a slight decrease on the third quarter. Travelling as a couple will be also the most frequent.
• The level of hotel bookings in both geographical areas is above the average of bookings for other destinations analysed, yet behind those of Madrid.

 

United States

• The US cities with the highest volume of air passengers from/to Barcelona Airport keep being New York, Miami, and Chicago.
• During the fourth quarter of 2023, school holidays will be for Thanksgiving (23/11 – 24/11) and, for Christmas, from 25/12.
• The region showing the most interest in Barcelona city over the last 90 days was Vermont, while in Destination Barcelona, Nebraska. The most popular search terms were Barcelona, Spain, Sagrada Familia, and Montserrat.
• During the same period of analysis, the Destination ranked 8^th in internet searches for accommodation (-1 positions than in the last report) and 22^th for flights in the ranking of international destinations (-3 positions). It should be borne in mind that many Americans arrive in Destination Barcelona from other European cities.
• The level of hotel bookings for the fourth quarter of 2023 from the United States is quite ahead of the same period of 2022 for both Barcelona city, and Barcelona region. It should be noted that this is the market with the highest number of bookings for the last quarter in Barcelona city at the moment.
• Americans have booked with an average of more than 100 days before the stay. Stays will longer than 4 nights, slightly above than in the third quarter, and travelling as a couple will be the most frequent. 
• Hotel bookings for Barcelona city are above the average for other international European destinations, including Madrid, while for Barcelona region, they remain well below the average.

 

France

• The French cities with the highest volume of air passengers from/to Barcelona Airport are Paris, Nantes, and Nice.
• During the fourth quarter of 2023, school holidays will be in Christmas, from 17/12.
• The region showing the greatest interest in Barcelona city over the last 90 days was Languedoc-Roussillon​, while in Destination Barcelona, it was Franche-Comté region. The most popular search terms were, once again, Sagrada Familia, parks and beaches.
• During the same period of analysis, the destination climbed 1st  in internet searches for accommodation and it has remained 3^rd for flights in the ranking of international destinations.
• The level of hotel bookings for Barcelona city for the fourth quarter of 2023 from France is higher than the same period in 2022 in Barcelona city.
• The French have booked for these dates an average in between 90 and 100 days in advance. Stays will be around 4 nights (slighty below last quarter’s) and travelling as in group will be the most frequent in Barcelona city, while solo travelling, in Barcelona region.
• The level of hotel bookings for both Barcelona city and Barcelona region is over the average of bookings for other international European destinations (excluding Paris).
   

Italy

• The Italian cities with the highest volume of air passengers from/to Barcelona Airport keep being Rome, Milan, and Venice.
• During the fourth quarter of 2023, school holidays will be in 1st November and in Christmas, from 23/12.
• The region showing the greatest interest in Barcelona city over the last 90 days was Umbria, while in Destination Barcelona it was the Liguria region. The most popular search term has been ” the sea“, followed by the beaches, and Sagrada Familia.
• During the same period of analysis, the destination ranked 3^nd in internet searches for accommodation and 4th for flights in the ranking of international destinations, achieving a lower positioning in each of the categories analysed since the last source market report.
• The level of hotel bookings for the fourth quarter of 2023 from Italy is above the same period in 2022 in both Barcelona city and Barcelona region.
• Italians have booked, for these dates, an average around 90 days in advance. Stays will be over 3 nights long and travelling as a couple will be the most frequent in.
• The level of hotel bookings for Barcelona city is above the bookings average for other international European destinations (excluding Rome).

 

Netherlands

• The Dutch cities with the highest volume of air passengers from/to Barcelona Airport keep being Amsterdam, Eindhoven, and Rotterdam.
• During the first quarter of 2023, there will be school holidays from 14/10 to 22/10 and, in Christmas, from 23/12 to 31/12. 
• The region showing the most interest in Barcelona city over the last 90 days was North Holland, while in Destination Barcelona, Drenthe. The most popular search terms were Sagrada Familia, the weather, and “places of interest”.
• The destination has climbed 1 position, up to the 4^th , in internet searches for accommodation in the ranking of international destinations, while for flights, it has remained the 2nd. 
• The level of hotel bookings for the fourth quarter of 2023 from the Netherlands is ahead of the same period in 2022 in both Barcelona city and Barcelona region for stays in October and November.
• The Dutch have booked, for these dates, an average of more than 90 days in advance. Stays will be longer than 3.2 nights on average and travelling as a couple will be the most frequent.
• The level of hotel bookings in Barcelona city is above the average for bookings to other international European destinations (excluding Amsterdam).

 

United Kingdom

• The British cities with the highest volume of air passengers from/to Barcelona Airport are London, Manchester, and Bristol.
• During the fourth quarter of 2023, school holidays will be from 23/10 to 27/10 and, in Christmas, from 21/12 to 31/12.
• The region showing the most interest in Destination Barcelona over the last 90 days has been England. The most popular search terms were Sagrada Familia, “Things to do in Barcelona” and the weather.
• During the same period of analysis, the destination has dropped to the 9^th in internet searches for accommodation and it has maintained the 7^th for flights in the ranking of international destinations.
• The level of hotel bookings for the fourth quarter of 2023 from the United Kingdom is higher than that of the same period of 2022.
• The British have booked close to 120 days in advance. Stays will be around 4 nights long and travelling as a couple will be the most frequent.
• The level of hotel bookings in Barcelona city, is slightly above the average for bookings to other international European destinations (excluding London), while Barcelona region‘s, lower.

 

More information: Outbound Markets in Destination Barcelona 2023 – IV