USA and France lead international bookings for Easter stays in Destination Barcelona

The Observatory of Tourism in Barcelona updates the Destination Barcelona tourism forecast report as of 28/03/23, in which, as a novelty, a special chapter for hotel bookings for Easter stays in Barcelona city and Barcelona region is included.

Connectivity at the destination

• International air capacity: The worldwide flight air supply shows a recovery between 96% and 98% for the upcoming 3 months, compared to prepandemic levels.
• Flight offer at Barcelona Airport: Barcelona is currently served by 72 airlines flying to 168 destinations, of which 40 are intercontinental.
• Cruises at Port de Barcelona: near 80 cruise ships are expected to arrive in Barcelona in April.

Agenda

• Culture and leisure events: Destination Barcelona will stand out in April for hosting a wide range of sports events such as such as football matches, the Salomon Run and the 70th Conde de Godó Trophy. In Barcelona region, it is worth highlighting the programme of events related to Easter, such as the Passió d’Esparreguera and Olesa and various Easter processions.
• Professional events: There are currently 116 congresses confirmed for the upcoming years, 91 of which in 2023. In the meanwhile, about 100 applications are open until 2027. In April, major professional events such as the Seafood Expo Global / Seafood Processing Global 2023 (25/04/23-07/04/23), which could receive about 30.000 delegates, will take place in Destination Barcelona.

Interest for the destination

• Online search trends: Over last weeks, Google searches have kept stable for Barcelona city, while for Destination Barcelona, an upward trend has been observed. 
• Positioning of the destination in online searches: Over the last month, Destination Barcelona has ranked 9th in the ranking of international destinations for accommodation searches and 7th, for flights. Thus, the positioning achieved in the previous month has been maintained.
   

Accommodation demand forecast

• Seasonality and hotel bookings lead time: Over the last month, hotel bookings for both Barcelona city and Barcelona region have increased. The lead time for bookings made in March was 59 days in Barcelona city and 46 days in Barcelona region.
• Origin and travel group: International bookings in March have exceeded domestic bookings in Barcelona city (70.2%), while in Barcelona region, domestic bookings have been the most frequent (58.5%). 4 out of 10 bookings made are for travelling as a couple.
• Dates and length of stay: Currently, the level of bookings for the upcoming 3 months is above the level recorded last year. The average length of stay for bookings from April to June is almost at the same level of the same period last year: 3.4 nights in both, Barcelona city and Barcelona region. 
• Benchmark: Barcelona city and Barcelona region are, respectively, in the first and the last position in the ranking of hotel bookings of European destinations analysed for stays during the next three months. Both, the volume of bookings and the ADR for Madrid are slightly below of that of Barcelona city.
• Easter special: 
  • The level of hotel bookings for Easter at this moment (10 days before) is higher than a year ago.
  • The peak of incoming bookings will be around Good Friday and bookings have been made with a lead time of 62 days in Barcelona city and a 43 days in Barcelona region.
  • Domestic bookings keep being the most frequent in both geographical areas, although their market share has decreased compared to 2022, in favour of international markets. As for the latter, the American market in Barcelona city and the French market in Barcelona region are the ones who have booked the most for Easter holidays. 
  • The average stay will be 4 nights in Barcelona city and 3.7 nights in Barcelona region.
  • The ADR will be around €200 in Barcelona city and €180 in Barcelona region, which in both cases means an increase compared to the same period in 2022.
  • Half of the bookings are for travelling as a couple.

Destination Barcelona Tourism Forecast report (28/03/23)