Most tourists in Destination Barcelona traveled for leisure purposes in December

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

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

Barcelona city

• Hotels and guesthouses accounted for 670 establishments and more than 86,100 operational beds, slightly below November, but above the previous year (+2.9% Var. 24/23 in beds).
• Demand in hotels, guesthouses, and tourist accommodation (HTUs) decreased compared to the previous month, both in terms of tourists and overnight stays, due to seasonality. If compared year-on-year, the number of tourists increased (+3.7% Var. 24/23), but a slight reduction in the average length of stay (from 3.0 nights in 2023 to 2.9 in 2024) meant that the number of overnight stays was reduced (-1.0% Var. 24/23).
• By type of establishment, the average length of stay was 2.4 nights in hotel establishments and 4.1 in HTUs. On the other hand, hotel occupancy was 53.7% (-0.2pp Var. 24/23), while occupancy in HTUs was 51.5% (-2.9 percentage points Var. 24/23).
• At Barcelona Airport, there were 4.1 million passenger movements, which meant a year-on-year increase of +5.2%. The top countries of origin for passengers flying into Barcelona were, in this order, Spain, Italy, the UK, France, and Germany.
• Regarding the origin of tourists, in hotel establishments, the proportion of international tourists was 75.5%, -12.4% month-on-month. The largest group of tourists in this type of establishment were residents of Spain (24.5% share), followed by those from the United States (8.3%) and Italy (7.9%).
• The typical tourist in the city of Barcelona¹ during this month was a 37-year-old person who traveled either as a couple (31.1%) or solo (29.5%). Those traveling for leisure reasons accounted for 65.0% of the total, followed by those traveling for personal reasons (20.5%). However, professional tourists were sharply reduced month-on-month, going from 50.0% in November to 14.6% in December.
• The average expenditure during the stay in the city decreased compared to the previous month, reaching €94.3 per person per day, likely due to the decrease in professional tourists. However, this expense was quite higher than that of the previous year (+33.1% Var. 24/23).
• Expenditure during the stay in the city was mainly allocated to food and drink (46.7%), followed by 19.3% spent on clothing, footwear, and other purchases, and 18.5% on entertainment, leisure, and culture.
• Regarding the job market, in December, new hiring in the core activity decreased. However, permanent contracts in the city outnumbered temporary contracts (54.8% vs 45.2%). On the other hand, tourism unemployment was slightly higher than the same period in 2023 (+0.6% Var. 24/23).

Barcelona region

• The operational supply of tourist accommodation in the region decreased compared to November due to tourist seasonality, but it remained quite stable year-on-year, with a total of 914 establishments and over 46,450 operational beds, including hotels, campsites, and rural tourism.
• Tourist demand decreased month-on-month, both in the number of tourists and in overnight stays. When looking at the data on a year-over-year basis, the number of tourists decreased (-3.0% Var. 24/23), yet overnight stays remained stable (-0,4% Var. 24/23).
• This was due to a rise in the average length of stay (from 2.0 nights in December 2023 to 2.1 nights in December 2024). By type of accommodation, campsites again had the longest stays (3.4 nights), followed by rural tourism establishments (2.7 nights) and hotels and guesthouses (2.0 nights). In terms of occupancy, hotel establishments registered 40.8% in beds, campsites, 38.8% (-5.6pp Var. 24/23) and rural tourism establishments, 24.5% (+0.7pp Var. 24/23).
• 47.7% of tourists in hotel establishments in Barcelona region were international, a lower proportion compared to the previous month (-4.0 pp).
• The typical tourist in the Barcelona region during this month¹ was a person aged 46, who traveled for leisure (49.7%) and as a couple (44.4%). The average expenditure during the stay, €45.8 per person per day, remained fairly stable month-over-month, but it decreased year-on-year (-19.8% Var. 24/23). Taking into account the increase in Barcelona city, the average expense in Destination Barcelona as a whole was €77.2€ (+15.9% Var. 24/23).
• Expenditure during the stay in Barcelona region was mainly spent on food and drink (66.5%) and on clothing, footwear, and other purchases (18.7%).
• Both permanent and temporary hiring in the tourism activity in Barcelona region decreased month-on-month, although permanent contracts still outnumbered temporary ones (56.3% vs. 43.7%). Finally, registered unemployment decreased by -2.3% year-on-year.

With year-end data, the city of Barcelona received a total of 15.6 million tourists in 2024, which, combined with the 10.5 million in Barcelona region, brought the Destination Barcelona a total to 26.1 million. These figures, along with accommodation expenditure and the expense made during the stay, have allowed the OTB to estimate the economic impact of the direct expenditure from tourism activity at a total of 14.088 million euros in Destination Barcelona as a whole. This impact is distributed as 10.318 million in Barcelona city and 3.770 million in Barcelona region. It is important to highlight that, while the growth in the number of tourists has been negative in Barcelona city (-0.2% Var. 24/23) and limited in the Barcelona region (+1.8% Var. 24/23), the economic impact has been significantly higher than in 2023, with year-on-year growth of +6.6% in the first case and +22.6% in the second. These calculations include data from paid tourist accommodations in the destination and other types of accommodation without economic transaction, such as homes of friends and relatives.

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

More information:

Summary of tourism activity in Destination Barcelona – December 2024

Tourism activity interactive report