OTB publishes the first report on the most relevant source markets in Destination Barcelona

The Barcelona Tourism Observatory: city and region has published, for the first time, a report on outbound markets, with the aim of providing a more detailed overview of the main source markets of Destination Barcelona, which are those with the largest market share: Germany, Spain, the United States, France, Italy, the United Kingdom, and the Netherlands.

The report, which is organised in individual slides for each of the markets analysed, contains information on their air connectivity with Barcelona, their school holiday and public holiday calendars, their online interest, and the level and main characteristics of their hotel bookings for the upcoming months.

Thanks to the availability of data from the various sources used, the report contains information on various geographical areas of analysis: Barcelona city, Barcelona region, and Destination Barcelona.

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 are Frankfurt, Munich, and Berlin.
• During the first quarter of 2023, school holidays were concentrated in the first week of January.
• The region showing the greatest interest in Barcelona city during the last quarter of 2022 was Hamburg, while in Destination Barcelona, the region of Saxony. The most popular search terms were weather, Sagrada Familia, and “city attractions”.
• During the same period of analysis, the Destination ranked 14^th in internet searches for accommodation and 8^th for flights in the ranking of international destinations.
• The level of hotel bookingsfor the first quarter of 2023 from Germany is similar to 2022 in Barcelona city, while in Barcelona region it is considerably higher, especially for stays in February.
• Germans have booked, for these dates, an average of 75 days in advance in Barcelona city and 48.8 days in Barcelona region. Stays will be around 4 nights and travelling as a couple will be the most frequent.
• The level of hotel bookings in Barcelona city and Barcelona region is around 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 first quarter of 2023, school holidays have been concentrated during the first week of January.
• The region that has shown the greatest interest in both Barcelona city and Destination Barcelona during the last quarter of 2022 has been Catalonia. The most popular search terms were Sagrada Familia, hotels, weather, Andorra, Picasso Museum, and the train connection between Barcelona and Sitges.
• During the same period of analysis, the Destination ranked 2^nd in internet searches for both accommodation and flights, within the ranking of national and international destinations.
• The level of hotel bookings for the first quarter of 2023 from Spain is similar to 2022 in both Barcelona city and Barcelona region.
• Spaniards have booked, for these dates, an average of 63.7 days in advance in Barcelona city and 54.1 days in Barcelona region. Stays will be around 2.2 nights long and travelling as a couple will be the most frequent.
• The level of hotel bookings in Barcelona city is above the average of bookings for other destinations analysed, while the level for Barcelona region is the same as others.

 

United States

• The US cities with the highest volume of air passengers from/to Barcelona Airport are New York, Miami, and Los Angeles.
• During the first quarter of 2023, school holidays will be during the first week of January and the week of President’s Day in the USA, from the 20^th to the 24^th of February.
• The region showing the most interest in Barcelona city during the last quarter of 2022 was the District of Columbia, while in Destination Barcelona, Wisconsin. The most popular search terms were Barcelona, Spain, and Sagrada Familia.
• During the same period of analysis, the Destination ranked 10^th in internet searches for accommodation and 23^rd for flights in the ranking of international destinations. It should be borne in mind that many Americans arrive in Destination Barcelona from other European cities.
• The level of hotel bookings for the first quarter of 2023 from the United States is similar to 2022 in Barcelona city, although there are more bookings in March than during the same period last year. In Barcelona region, on the other hand, bookings for January are higher than last year.
• Americans have booked particularly far in advance for these dates, with an average of 87.8 days before the stay in Barcelona city and 81.1 days in Barcelona region. Stays will be around 4 nights long and couples will be the most frequent travellers in Barcelona city, while solo travellers, in Barcelona region.
• The level of hotel bookings for Barcelona city is around the average of bookings for other international European destinations, while for Barcelona region, it is half the average of the former.

 

France

• The French cities with the highest volume of air passengers from/to Barcelona Airport are Paris, Lyon, and Nice.
• During the first quarter of 2023, school holidays were concentrated in the first week of January.
• The region showing the greatest interest in Barcelona city during the last quarter of 2022 was Languedoc-Roussillon, while in Destination Barcelona, it was the Alsace region. The most popular search terms were Sagrada Familia, accommodation, and weather.
• During the same period of analysis, the destination ranked 3^rd in internet searches for accommodation and 8^th for flights in the ranking of international destinations.
• The level of hotel bookings for the first quarter of 2023 from France is similar to 2022 in Barcelona city, although from mid-February onwards, an increase is observed. In the Barcelona region, bookings for stays during February stand out.
• The French have booked for these dates an average of 59.8 days in advance in Barcelona city and 55.6 days in Barcelona region. Stays will be around 3.2 nights and travelling as a couple will be the most frequent in Barcelona city, while solo travelling, in Barcelona region.
• The level of hotel bookings for Barcelona city is around the average of bookings for other international European destinations (excluding Paris). However, the level for Barcelona region is slightly below the average.

 

Italy

• The Italian cities with the highest volume of air passengers from/to Barcelona Airport are Rome, Milan, and Venice.
• During the first quarter of 2023, school holidays have been concentrated in the first week of January, although there will also be 3 days of school holidays in February, between the 20^th and the 22^nd.
• The region showing the greatest interest in Barcelona city during the last quarter of 2022 was Trentino-Alto Adige, while in Destination Barcelona it was the Marche region. The most popular search terms were Sagrada Familia and “La Cattedrale del Mare Barcellona” (Santa Maria del Mar Church).
• During the same period of analysis, the destination ranked 4^th in internet searches for accommodation and 5^th for flights in the ranking of international destinations.
• The level of hotel bookings for the first quarter of 2023 from Italy is similar to 2022 in Barcelona city, while in Barcelona region it is lower.
• Italians have booked, for these dates, an average of 61.1 days in advance in Barcelona city and 57.6 days in Barcelona region. Stays will be around 3 nights long and travelling as a couple will be the most frequent in Barcelona city, while solo travelling, in Barcelona region.
• The level of hotel bookings in Barcelona city is slightly above the bookings average for other international European destinations (excluding Rome), while the level in Barcelona region is below the average.

 

United Kingdom

• The British cities with the highest volume of air passengers from/to Barcelona Airport are London, Manchester, and Birmingham.
• During the first quarter of 2023, school holidays are concentrated in the first week of January, although there will also be a week off in February, from the 11^th to the 19^th.
• The region showing the most interest in Barcelona city during the last quarter of 2022 was England, while Wales was the most interested in Destination Barcelona. The most popular search terms were weather, “Things to do in Barcelona” and Sagrada Familia.
• During the same period of analysis, the destination ranked 9^th in internet searches for accommodation and 7^th for flights in the ranking of international destinations.
• The level of hotel bookings for the first quarter of 2023 from the United Kingdom is similar to 2022, although, from February onwards, a higher level of bookings is observed. In Barcelona region, bookings for stays during January stand out.
• The British have booked well in advance for these dates: 82.9 days before in Barcelona city and 74.5 days in Barcelona region. Stays will be around 3.5 nights long and travelling as a couple will be the most frequent in Barcelona city, while solo travelling in Barcelona region.
• The level of hotel bookings in Barcelona city is slightly above the average for bookings to other international European destinations (excluding London), while the level in Barcelona region is below the average.

 

The Netherlands

• The Dutch cities with the highest volume of air passengers from/to Barcelona Airport are Amsterdam, Eindhoven, and Rotterdam.
• During the first quarter of 2023, there will be school holidays during the first week of January and from the 25^th of February to the 5^th of March.
• The region showing the most interest in Barcelona city during the last quarter of 2022 was Utrecht, while in Destination Barcelona, it was Drenthe. The most popular search terms were Sagrada Familia, weather, “places of interest” and Transavia.
• During the same period of analysis, the destination ranked 12^th in internet searches for accommodation and 8^th for flights in the ranking of international destinations.
• The level of hotel bookings for the first quarter of 2023 from the Netherlands is similar to 2022 in Barcelona city, while in Barcelona region it is higher.
• The Dutch have booked, for these dates, an average of 60 days in advance in Barcelona city and 66 days in the region. Stays will be around 4 nights long and travelling as a couple will be the most frequent in Barcelona city, and as a solo in Barcelona region.
• The level of hotel bookings in Barcelona city is above the average for bookings to other international European destinations (excluding Amsterdam), while the level in Barcelona region is below the average.

 

More infomation: Outbound Markets in Destination Barcelona 2023 – I