The increase in the average length of stay is consolidated in March at Destination Barcelona

In March 2023, tourism activity in Destination kept growing so that the main accommodation, tourist demand, and expense were above pre-pandemic values, while other monitoring indicators were still below them.

Below are the key indicators of March:

• The number of open bed places in tourist accommodation grew on the previous month, thanks to the establishments reopening in Barcelona region, due to the tourism seasonality. Thus, an average of near 140,000 beds were available, which is +1.4% ahead of the same period in 2019.
• Overnight stays increased month-on-month in the Destination as a whole, overcoming pre-pandemic levels in both Barcelona city and Barcelona region (+3.8% and +9.6%, respectively). All types of accommodation experienced month-on-month growth in overnight stays to a lesser or greater extent, but in percentage terms, the growth in campsites (+157.2%) and hotel establishments in Barcelona region (+31.0%) were particularly noteworthy.
• The average length of stay kept, fot the 6 month-in-a-row, higher than that recorded before the pandemic (+0.1 nights Var. Mar23/Mar19). By geographical area, in Barcelona city, the length of stay was longer than in Barcelona region (+3.0 nights vs. 2.2 nights). The occupancy rate increased in all cases in Barcelona city, while in Barcelona region, the hotel establishments and rural accommodation, experienced a slight setback.
• At Barcelona Airport, a month-on-month increase of +20.1% in passengers was recorded, reaching 3.8 million. Thus, the recovery in air traffic kept over 95% compared to the same period in 2019.
• In Barcelona Port, both cruise and ferry passengers grew compared to the previous month. However, cruise passengers were 9.3% behind those in March 2019, which means a setback in their recovery, while ferry passengers were, once again, over the same period in 2019 (+3.0 Var. 23/19).
• ICUB cultural facilities received considerably more visitors than in the previous month (+26.6%). 2 out of 3 were international, which means a month-on-month increase in their proportion (+9.5pp), even slightly ahead of the same month in 2022.
• Foreign tourism also increased its share in hotel establishments both in Destination Barcelona (67.4% share and +0.3pp month-on-month) and in Barcelona city (76.9% share and 1.2pp month-on-month). In the latter, the Americans (10.4%), who doubled their stays in this type of establishment month-on-month, ranked the second. They were followed by the British (7.4%), the French (7.0%), and the Germans (6.8%).
• The average spend during the stay in the Destination was €79.2, €7 higher than the previous month. This increase was possible thanks to the growth in spending in Barcelona region (+71.8% month-on-month), maily due to the growth of international tourism, but still quite behind the average expense in Barcelona city (€53.6 vs €91.2). Food and drink was the item in which more money was spent, followed by entertainment, leisure and culture.
• Registered unemployment in tourism activity remained below pre-pandemic levels (-20.5%) and indefinite hiring (58.3%) once again exceeded temporary hiring in Destination Barcelona as a whole.

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With the analysis of the different thematic areas, which offer a transversal vision of the sector, the Observatory of Tourism in Barcelona updates the monitoring of the tourism activity. This analysis complements the monthly report on the Profile and Habits of Tourists in Barcelona Destination. All data is presented in three geographical areas: Barcelona city, Barcelona region, and Destination Barcelona.

Consult the interactive report: