Tourism

For the first time, the Barcelona City Council stand, which it shares with Barcelona Provincial Council, is offering a daily programme of events and presentations on the most attractive themes for 2023, such as the La Vuelta a España (Tour of Spain) cycling race, the Picasso Year and the preparations for the 37th America's Cup.

This year, Barcelona is present at FITUR, with its new “Destination Barcelona” stand, publicising what the city and its regions have to offer, with the aim of positioning Barcelona territorially in people’s collective imagination.

This is a e 200 m² stand in the Catalan Tourism Agency’s Catalonia Area, where visitors can view the city’s main attractions for 2023, including sport, culture, food and wine.

The stand will be inaugurated today, Wednesday 18, at 1 pm, with Eduard Torres, the president of Turisme de Barcelona; Xavier Marcé, the Councillor for Tourism and Creative Industries and Núria Marín, the president of Barcelona Provincial Council, who have travelled to Madrid to attend and participate in various FITUR events and meetings.

On Wednesday afternoon, the La Vuelta a España (Tour of Spain) cycling race is being presented, with the participation of the former cyclist “Purito” Rodríguez. The presentation explains La Vuelta 2023 and the Barcelona stages, as well as Barcelona’s various Blue Route projects.

“The culinary revolution continues”, with Joan Roca and Carlota Claver

With the aim of providing continuity to the campaign “The Culinary Revolution Continues in Barcelona”, on the morning of Thursday 19, there will be an event featuring Joan Roca, the chef and businessman from El Celler de Can Roca, and Carlota Claver, the chef from La Gormanda, who represents the new generation of chefs. A conversation between these two Catalan chefs, focusing on the excellent moment Catalan and Barcelona cuisine is experiencing, with the presentation of the international edition of the Apart magazine, in English, published by the Abacus group, in collaboration with Turisme de Barcelona, in which the Roca brothers recount their international experiences as a source of inspiration.

The America’s Cup in Barcelona

One of the main promotional themes for 2023 and 2024 is the 37^th edition of the Barcelona America’s Cup, which is being held in 2024. Turisme de Barcelona is attending its first international fair of the year, with a preliminary action concerning the main event on the 2024 calendar.  There will be a presentation by Ignasi Armengol, the managing director of the Barcelona Ocean Navigation Foundation, who will explain the main attributes and new features of the most important international sailing regatta, which is being held in Barcelona from August to October 2024. Also taking part in the event are Albert Vilomara, the America’s Cup business director, and Olga Cerezo, the director of the Olympic Port, to give a general idea about the management of blue tourism in Barcelona and the role of sports marinas.

The Year of Picasso and Domènech i Montaner

In regard to culture, one of the major events, along with the Picasso Year, is the Domènech i Montaner Year, commemorating the centenary of the Catalan architect’s death. Initially, Turisme de Barcelona will be presenting new promotional material, in a campaign launched jointly with Barcelona Provincial Council, which aims to publicise one of the main exponents of Modernisme, who is not as well known internationally as Antoni Gaudí.

Agreements with Renfe and Mexico

On Wednesday afternoon, a new collaboration agreement will be signed with Renfe, in order to determine marketing actions in the area of rail transport, featuring Barcelona as a tourist and business destination.  And on Thursday, an agreement will be formalised with Mexico, in order to boost the promotional strategy for one of the most important and most interesting foreign markets for Barcelona, thereby providing continuity for Barcelona City Council’s official mission, which took place in October last year in Mexico, in order to promote the city as a destination for international investment and talent in strategic markets. The agreement will be signed by Eduard Torres, the president of Turisme de Barcelona, and Tourism Secretary for Mexico City.

Spanish Market                     

According to data for 2022, 20.3% of the tourism received by Barcelona comes from Spain, a rate which is above the 16% for 2019 and slightly below the figure for 2021, which reached 30%. In this regard, accommodation searches from Spain in 2022 put Barcelona in second place, while the city is in twelfth place worldwide.

Internal tourism mostly originates from Catalonia (479.5 thousand), Madrid (217.9 thousand), Andalusia (73.6 thousand) and the Valencian Community (69.5 thousand), with a high rate of repetition, as 77.3% of visitors return to Barcelona again.

The profile for national visitors is that of a young person, who is around 34 years old, arriving by train for leisure purposes. During their stay, for an average of 4 nights, they spend €252.34 per person, a budget mainly allocated to restaurants, culture and internal transport.

Lastly, national visitors give the city a score of 8.4, with its architecture, culture and entertainment being the most highly-valued aspects.