Turism

The Barcelona Tourism Observatory (OTB) has presented the full Tourism Activity Report for Barcelona 2023. It reflects the return of tourism in the city and province of Barcelona.

The publication includes three new chapters on International Positioning, Culture and Leisure, and General Information about Barcelona. It also updates other sections with final data, such as Tourism Demand, showing that hotels recorded an 11.5% increase in visitor numbers compared to 2022, reaching a total of 7,751,273. In the Transport Infrastructure section, the Airport saw a 12.6% increase in arrival and departure operations, totalling 318,959. The report also includes data on Tourist Origin.

International positioning

Barcelona ranked 7th for total overnight stays among European cities, behind London, Paris, Istanbul, Berlin, Rome, and Amsterdam, and ahead of Madrid, which ranked 8th.

For the second consecutive year since the pandemic, the Port of Barcelona took 1st place in the ranking of cruise passenger movements in the Mediterranean. Meanwhile, Barcelona Airport maintained its 7th position in the ranking of passenger movements at European airports, behind London Heathrow, Istanbul, Paris Charles de Gaulle, Amsterdam, Madrid, and Frankfurt.

In the metropolitan cities category, Barcelona remains in seventh place despite improving its score on the GDS index, going from 73.1% in 2022 to 74.5% in 2023.

Culture and leisure

The rise in tourism in Barcelona has led to a 20% increase in visitors at cultural, nature, and leisure sites.

Eighty-five percent of the most visited sites in the destination in 2023 were located in the city of Barcelona, with the Basilica of the Sagrada Família being the most visited site in this geographical area, attracting 4.7 million visitors. It was followed by Park Güell with 4.6 million visitors and the Montjuïc Cable Car with 2.1 million. In the Barcelona region, the most visited locations were the shopping centres of La Roca Village, with 5.4 million, Viladecans The Style Outlets, with 3.7 million, and Montserrat Monastery, with 2.2 million.

By attraction type, architectural landmarks saw the highest growth, at 24%, followed by exhibition centres at 21.9% and wine tourism venues at 19.9%.

For the first time, the report includes data on attendance at Barcelona’s festivals. The most popular events were the Christmas Festival, Primavera Sound, and Llum BCN Festival. As for sporting events, attendance increased significantly, 70%, mainly driven by football matches.

General information about the destination

In 2023, the registered population of Barcelona increased to a total of 1.66 million people. The Eixample became the most densely populated district, with 36,000 residents per km². In the province of Barcelona, the population also increased, reaching 5.80 million residents. Excluding Barcelonès, the most populated counties are Vallès Occidental, Baix Llobregat, and Maresme.

Meeting tourism and trade fair activity

The Barcelona destination dropped slightly in the meeting tourism sector rankings compared to 2022, placing 5th in both the number of meetings and delegates in the ICCA ranking and  9th in the UIA ranking for the number of meetings.

A total of 79 events were held at Fira Barcelona in 2023, the majority in the Health and Wellbeing sector, followed by Communication and ICTs, Industry and Equipment and Culture, Education, and Art.