Tourism demand grew strongly in Barcelona Destination in January, driven by the international market.

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

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

Barcelona city

• Hotels and guesthouses accounted for 640 establishments and more than 87,000 operational beds, decrasing compared to December and remaining stable compared to the previous year (+1.8 % YoY. 26/25).
• Demand for hotels, guesthouses and Homes for Tourist Use (HTUs) menained stable in terms of tourists and slightly decrease in overnight stays. If compared interannually, there was an increase in the number of tourists (+10.6% YoY. 26/25) and overnights (+6.7% YoY. 26/25) even though the average length of stay was shorter (from 2.7 nights in 2025 to 2.6 nights in 2026).
• By type of accommodation, the average stay was 2.4 nights in hotel establishments and 3.1 in HTUs. Meanwhile, the occupancy rate was 55.7% in hotel establishments (+3.2pp YoY. 25/24) and 49.6% in HTUs (+0.8pp YoY. 25/24).
• At Barcelona Airport, there were around 3,8 million passenger movements, which led to an increase of 3.1% compared to last year. The ranking of countries from which passengers flew to Barcelona Airport was led by Spain, followed by Italy, the United Kingdom, France and Germany.
• Regarding the origin of tourists staying in hotel establishments, international visitors—who increased by 12.6% year-on-year—accounted for 77.7% of the total. By country, the ranking of tourists in this type of establishment was led by residents of Spain (22.3% share), followed by those from the United States (8.2%), France (6.8%), and Italy (6.6%).
• The typical tourist in Barcelona¹ during this month was a 35-year-old traveller, most commonly visiting as a part of a couple (37.6%), and visiting the city for the first time (52.3%). Leisure travellers accounted for 63.9% of the total, while those traveling for professional reasons ranked second, at 19.9%.
• The average expenditure during stays in the city increased compared to the previous year (+17,9% YoY. 26/25) and to the previous month, going from €103.7 in December to €109.5 per person per day in January.
• Spending during the stay in the city was primarily allocated to food and beverages (43%), followed by shopping (24.8%), entertainment, leisure and culture (18.3%) and internal transport (13.4%).
• Regarding the labour market, new hiring in the core tourism sector decreased compared to both the previous month and interannually (-14.9% YoY. 26/25). More than half of the new contracts were permanent, and registered unemployment in the tourism activities almost the same than in the same period of 2025 (-0.5% YoY. 26/25).

Barcelona region

• The operational supply of tourist accommodation in the region stood at more than 900 establishments and 65,000 bed places, including hotels, rural tourism establishments, and campsites. The year-on-year growth in bed places in rural tourism stands out, at 43.2%.
• Tourism demand increased year-on-year both in terms of the number of tourists and overnight stays, by around +13%. The average length of stay remained stable at 2.1 nights.
• By type of accommodation, campsites recorded the longest average stay (3.4 nights), followed by rural tourism establishments (2.6 nights) and hotels (2.0 nights).
• A total of 52.7% of tourists staying in hotel establishments in Barcelona region were international visitors, who recorded a year-on-year increase of +9.3%.
• The typical tourist¹ in Barcelona region during this month was a 46-year-old individual who travelled for professional reasons (43.6%) and as part of a couple (33.7%).
• Average expenditure during the stay was set at €70.4, higher than last month (+23%) and than the previous year (+12.6% YoY 26/25). Taking into account the data for Barcelona city, the average expenditure in Destination Barcelona was €98 (+17.9% YoY. 26/25).
• The expenditure during the stay was mainly allocated to food and beverages (66%), shopping (17.6%) and internal transport (11.6%).
• Hiring in the tourism activity in Barcelona region decreased year-on-year (-7.1% YoY. 26/25). Half of the new contracts were permanent, and registered unemployment in the tourism activity was lower than in the same period of 2025 (-5.3% YoY. 26/25)

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

Summary of tourism activity in Destination Barcelona – January 2025

Informe interactiu de seguiment de l’activitat turística