Tourism

The Mayor commented that managing tourism, sustainability, digitisation, and quality employment are the priorities of the future. A total of 7.5 million overnight stays were recorded in the city this summer, with visitors spending €1.14bn.

City mayor Jaume Collboni chaired the first Barcelona Tourist Consortium General Council of this term of office with the new members.

Attendees and participants included the Tourist Consortium’s chairman, Eduard Torres, the first and second deputy chairs, Jordi Valls and Jordi Clos, along with the spokespersons appointed by Barcelona City Council, the Chamber of Commerce and the Fundació Barcelona Promoció.

Mayor Collboni again congratulated the Consortium on its role in reviving the tourist sector following the pandemic as well as the 30 years of success it has enjoyed thanks to the shared vision of the public institutions and the private sector.

Given tourism is undeniably an economic driver and strategic sector for Barcelona, Collboni said that “the Consortium must now turn its attention to the challenge of duly managing this success in a joint manner. And doing so with many other stakeholders who also have their part to play in projecting Barcelona as a coveted city and global tourist destination.”

Collboni singled out managing tourism, sustainability, digitisation and quality employment as the most immediate challenges and goals for ensuring that tourism continues to be a sector that brings wealth to the city without putting it at risk. In that regard, the mayor emphasised the need to strengthen “the shared vision and partnership between the public and private sectors so together they can coordinate those measures that maintain tourism’s success and minimise its impact.”

Eduard Torres, who chairs the executive committee, stressed that the “Tourist Consortium is a healthy body from both a financial and a resources point of view and, therefore, this is a time for considering challenges such as [tourism] management, which in the 2024 Work Plan will stem, above all, from the Next Generation funds and digitisation, and managing flows, as well as continuing with a part of strategic promotion to continue taking care of projecting the destination.”

Today’s council meeting also reviewed the work done in 2022, approving both the Annual Report and the annual accounts. The end-of-year results show an income of €42,294,870 and expenditure of €40,025,023 with a surplus of €1,081,356 and positive equity.

During the last financial year, income from marketing and own business activity increased by 32% compared to 2021, resources that have been mainly allocated to strategic management and promotional activity.

The 2022 Report, approved by the Executive Committee in July, reveals activity very much in line with the post-pandemic context, with some markets still very tight but already recovering.

With regard to the contents, and in accordance with the Government Measure on new Mindsets, new narratives such as Barcelona Science Destination, Barcelona Workation, Shalom Barcelona, and Religious Cultural Tourism were put on the table.

With regard to sustainability, Barcelona was recognised as a primary global destination with Biosphere Platinum certification.

The city has consolidated its leading position in the trade fair and conference sphere, with 450 conferences held here and 78 candidacies worked on, all in strategic sectors.

Activity in 2023

Today’s session discussed the activity in the next four-month period, marked above all by the increase in the city’s conference activity and the Christmas campaign, together with the Michelin Gala, to continue promoting the city’s gastronomic excellence, as well as promoting the America’s Cup.

The Consortium’s most immediate objectives are to promote its role as an instrument for Barcelona’s economic, social and cultural development; to enhance the relational space with members to reinforce dialogue with the sector; to renew digital tools to promote the digitalisation of Barcelona’s tourism ecosystem; to promote the Barcelona destination through shared values and content; to boost the private sector by generating its own and private resources and strengthening public-private partnerships; and to position Barcelona as a sustainable tourism destination, with a programme of legacy and regenerative tourism.

A summer of recovery for tourism

In July and August, almost 2.3 million tourists stayed in hotels, HUTs and hostels in the city (8% fewer than in 2019), but 7.5 million overnight stays were recorded, which puts us at the same level as in 2019 and shows the trend of extending the average stay.

As many as 84.9% of tourists staying in hotels were of international origin, highlighting the city’s clear specialisation in this type of tourism. Domestic tourism is 13% above the pre-pandemic level, with 235,229 visitors this summer.

The United States stands out for the biggest number of tourists (211,240), followed by the UK and France (144,242 and 128,350, respectively).

Barcelona also stood out for being the Spanish urban destination with the most overnight stays during the summer, thanks to international tourism.

Summer impact €1.14bn

According to the Tourism Observatory, it is estimated that tourists spent €1.14bn during their stay, a 20% increase from 2022 and a 9.3% increase from 2019.

The economic impact can also be seen in the business recovery of tourist services. Although inflation is a factor that needs to be taken into account, the expenditure made on BBVA’s POS cards is 42.6% higher than in 2019.

Social security affiliation related to tourism activity in Barcelona has once again exceeded 100,000, the same level as in 2019 and a 7.9% increase in the number of people employed compared to 2022.

The trend in contracts is very favourable. As many as 52% of contracts in the sector this last summer were permanent. They only accounted for 10.6% in 2019