The Observatory of Tourism in Barcelona updates the Destination Barcelona tourism forecast report as of 01/10/2021. This report highlights the effects of Covid-19 on the tourism sector.

Covid-19 situation

Covid-19 preventive measures continue despite the increasing number of worldwide vaccinations.

In Catalonia, from the 30/09 to the 07/10, the following measures affect the tourism sector:

• Restaurants and bars: 50% of capacity on the inside and 100% on the outside of the establishments. Opening time: until 1.00 am.
• Commerce: 70% of capacity on shops without surface limit
• Professional events: allowed at 70% of their capacity
• Culture: 70% of capacity in museums, exhibition centers, cinemas and concert halls until 23 h. Opening time: until 1.00 am.
• Nightlife: closed except totally outdoor venues. Opening time: until 3.00 am.
• Sports: public is allowed at 70% of capacity. In sports activities with a capacity of more than 10,000 people, 60% (outdoors) and 40% (indoors) is allowed.
• Amusement parks: 50% of capacity
  
   

Source markets

The EU Digital COVID certificate is operational. In Spain, the entrance of passengers from EU countries (or zones) with risk is allowed if one of the following is presented:

1. Vaccination certificate

2. Diagnosis certificate

3. Recovery certificate

The rest of EU passengers are accepted without any certificate.

On the other hand, passengers traveling from intercontinental countries considered as "no risk countries" are also accepted as long as they present the vaccination certificate. 

Transportation offer

The global airlines capacity during 27/09 week has decreased by -30.3%, and in Spain, by -27.0% (var. 21/19), which means a decrease of 50,000 seats on the previous week.

The forecasts show an increase in the number of seats operated worldwide in October. However it must be reminded that airlines continue to readjust their flight schedules week after week.

During the following week, 18 cruises ships are leaving or making a stopover at Barcelona Port.

Tourist offer and professional events

Beasides, 89.8% of the cultural facilities in Barcelona city are open.

As for the professional events, it must be highlighted that there are 117 confirmed congresses for the upcoming years, 29 in 2021. Meanwhile, about 90 applications are open until 2027.

Tourist demand

Over the last week, Google searches from Spain for Barcelona city have increased, while those for Destination Barcelona have decreased. Most of the searches for both geographical areas keep coming from Catalonia.

The Barcelona flights and accommodation searches achieve their best positioning on the French, the Spanish, the Dutch and the Italian markets, followed by United Kingdom. Destination Barcelona has ranked again, 13th in searches of accommodation and 7th in searches of flights in the ranking of international destinations worldwide.

Finally, from 19/09 to 26/09, hotel reservations in Barcelona city has stood at 61.2% compared to the series peak (January 2020), which means an increase over the same period in 2020. In Barcelona region, the bookings have stood at 55.6% compared to the series peak (June 2021), which means a decrease compared to the same period of 2020. The lead time has been been 14 days in Barcelona city and 12 days in Barcelona region, both over the previous weeks' lead times, especially in the Barcelona region. As for the origin of the bookings, international bookings have been higher than the nationals in both geographical regions.

Destination Barcelona tourism forecast (01/10/2021)