• The degree of repeatability of Destination Barcelona stands at 47.4%, while the Barcelona city's remains at 46.7% and the region's, at 48.6 %.
• 29.4% of the repeaters in Barcelona Destination travel because of professional reasons.
• The Spanish are those who repeat the most, followed by the British and the French. Americans, despite coming from a further market, also repeat.
• In Barcelona city, ​​the tourist expense during the stay increases as travelers repeat, while in Destination Barcelona, it remains stable.
• The more the visitors repeat in Destination Barcelona, the higher the expense on food and drink is, the fewer interest places they visit and the lower their valuation of the destination is.

The Observatory of Tourism in Barcelona (OTB) has published Tourist repeatability report in Destination Barcelona 2018, which states that 47.4% of visitors have repeated their visit to Destination Barcelona (city and region), while in Barcelona city, this percentage remains stable at 46.7%. On the other hand, Barcelona region registers 48.6% of repeaters. The evolution of repeatability will be able to be monitored throughout Destination Barcelona from this year on.

The repeatability indicator in Destination Barcelona is especially important in terms of defining profiles, mobility and visitor behavior once in the destination. This indicator is also an approximation that determines the destination's tourism sustainability.

Overall, the Barcelona city repeaters behavior is very similar to the Destinations'. However, Barcelona region shows some differences, for example, in terms of accommodation.

In Barcelona city, the highest repeatability data was registered in 2006, with 61.6% of total tourists and the lowest, in 2012, with 40.6%. In the last three years, the percentage of repeaters has remained stable.

The main difference between Destination Barcelona and Barcelona city is that, in the first case, the total expense during the stay per person and day, excluding the accommodation and the arrival transport expense, remains stable regardless of the number of times that they have been to the destination. On the other hand, in the case of Barcelona city, this expense increases as the repetition number increases, reaching € 89.29 on the fifth visit (€ 77.89 on the first visit).

Gastronomy is the concept in which visitors spend the most, regardless of the times they have come, although it should be noted that this expense increases as they repeat. In Barcelona city, spending on food and drink increases from € 33.35 (on the first visit) to € 43.09 (on the fifth visit), while in the Destination Barcelona, ​​this expense increases from 30.06 € (on the first visit) to € 36.06 (on the fifth visit).

On the other hand, the expense on leisure and culture (entertainment) drops by half from the first to the fifth visit (€ 5.68 per person per day in Destination Barcelona and € 8.96, in Barcelona city).

One of the conclusions of the report is that 29.4% of repeaters in Destination Barcelona come for professional reasons, rising to 31.4%, in the case of the Barcelona region.

As for accommodation, in Barcelona city, most repeaters stay in hotels and usually come for leisure. The repeaters who sleep in friends or relatives' homes represent 20.7% of the repeaters, while those who visit it for the first time, only 7.7%. On the other hand, in homes for tourist use and youth hostels, there are fewer repeaters than first-time visitors. Hotels are also the favorite type of accommodation for tourist repeaters in Destination Barcelona (53.7%) and the region (62%). In Barcelona region, the second most used accommodation by repeaters are campsites (22.6%).

By nationalities, repeaters from the United States represent 4.9%, despite coming from a distant market. Destination Barcelona and Barcelona city receive, first of all, repeaters from Spain, followed by the United Kingdom and France.

In Barcelona city, the visited points of interest are very similar, regardless of the number of times they come, although as the number of visits to the city increases, the fewer points they tend to visit.

In terms of valuation in Destination Barcelona, the more the tourists come, the more it decreases. In Barcelona region, the item that receives a better rating from the repeaters is the character and kindness of local people, while, in Barcelona city, the best-rated items are architecture and culture, with a rating of 9.19 and 8.87 out of 10 respectively. Destination Barcelona attracts repeaters for its architecture, culture, entertainment offer and character and kindness of local people.

In general, the valuation of Destination Barcelona decreases as the number of visits increases. However, the average rating does not experience significant differences and it is close to excellence.

Finally, the indifference to promote Barcelona city grows as the number of visits increases. As a consequence, the rating experiences a decrease in the Net Promouter Score (NPS).

Related link:

Repeatability report in Destination Barcelona 2018