The OTB analyses the state of the Easter hotel bookings

The OTB publishes a special report on the Destination Barcelona tourism activity forecast with a special focus on the demand for accommodation for the Easter holidays period.

The main conclusions of this update are presented below:

• At the moment, hotel bookings for Easter week stays in Barcelona city are at 80% of last year’s final bookings and at 60% in Barcelona region.
• However, in both geographical areas, bookings are only slightly down year-on-year until Maundy Thursday. From then on, the trend reverses and the volume of bookings is close to that recorded a year ago.
• In Barcelona city, the peak of incoming bookings will be on Saturday 30/04/24, while in Barcelona region it will be before, on Good Friday.
• Bookings for Easter have been made on average 45-55 days in advance, which is higher than last year.
• The domestic market is the one with the most bookings for Easter, especially in Barcelona region. Those from the United States are the most frequent international bookings in Barcelona city, while those from France, in the region.
• The average stay will be 4.1 nights in Barcelona city and 2.9 nights in the region. More than half of the bookings are for travelling as a couple.
• The ADR will be over €200 in Barcelona city (-7,3% Var. 24/23) and close to €150 in Barcelona region (+1,2% Var. 24/23). 
• The volume of hotel bookings for Easter in Destination Barcelona is lower than the average for the European cities analysed. The ADR of Barcelona city is at a very similar level to that of Madrid (222€), while that of Barcelona region is between Viena‘s (168€) and Berlin‘s (140€).
• The average stay in Barcelona city will be the same as Madrid’s, while the average stay in Barcelona region will be the shortest.

As for the Destination Barcelona tourism activity forecast after Easter, the Observatory presents a summary of the April 2024 edition of the report below:

• Air capacity in Barcelona in April is expected to exceed 5.4 million seats. During the summer air season, an average of 5.7 million seats per month will be offered at Barcelona airport.
• 79 cruise ships are expected to arrive at Barcelona Port this month, a similar level to that of April 2023. This month will stand as the start of the high cruise season in the city.
• The agenda of culture and leisure in the destination will feature various sporting events, such as the FCB men’s Champions League match against PSG, the Barcelona Sitges vintage car rally, the European Le Mans Series 2024 and the Barcelona Open Banc Sabadell – 71st Conde de Godó Trophy. In the area of culture and traditions, there will be a new edition of the Igualada Exhibition, the celebration of Sant Jordi’s Day / World Book Day and the Feria de Abril.
• The congresses with the most expected attendance will be the Seafood Expo Global (30,000 attendees) and the European Congress of Climical Microbiology and Infectious Diseases (15,000 attendees)
• Several source markets will enjoy school holidays this month: the UK and Germany will extend their Easter holidays until 14/04, Japan will have holidays during the first week of the month, France will have regional holidays, by fortnight, from 06/04/24, the United States, from 22/04/24, and the Netherlands, from 27/04/24.
• In the last month, Google searches for Destination Barcelona as a tourist destination have registered similar levels to those of 2023, but lower than those of 2019. The most popular online search terms keep being Sagrada Familia and some coastal destinations of Garraf.
• In the last month, Destination Barcelona has maintained its international online positioning, ranking 8th for accommodation searches and 7th for flights.
• Hotel bookings made during the last month were led by the domestic market and, in Barcelona city, bookings from the USA were the most frequent international bookings, while in Barcelona region, were those from France. Bookings for stays in April were slightly lower than last year in the same period.
• In comparison with other European destinations, Barcelona city has a similar level of hotel bookings to London and Rome, while Barcelona region is well below.
   

More information:

• Destinaton Barcelona tourism activity forecast – Easter holidays 2024 special report
• Destination Barcelona tourism activity forecast (2024-IV)