The arrival of international visitors has triggered tourist activity in Spain to levels that are close to the highs prior to the outbreak of the pandemic, but if there is a destination that has managed to make the reactivation more profitable, that is Barcelona.
The hotels in the Catalan capital registered an occupancy during the first half of this year of 66%, compared to 26% in 2021. These figures represent an increase of 152%, which comes accompanied by a much greater increase (342%) of the income per available room (indicator of hotel profitability), up to 96 euros. It is the highest growth in Spain, both in terms of employment and income, with a national average of 77 euros. In addition, it ranks as the second destination with the highest average daily rate per room, 146 euros, after growing by 75%. Only Marbella surpasses it, which reaches 248 euros, according to the Hotel Barometer prepared by STR and Cushman
After the opening of borders, Barcelona has regained its attractiveness as a destination for business tourism and even shopping. And it has been able to capture a new actor in this market, British tourists, who once outside the European Union after Brexit, take advantage of their condition to make duty-free purchases, a benefit enjoyed by non-EU tourists. The latest Payments data and Insights report, prepared by Planet, a company specializing in tax-free payment management, points out that “Barcelona is the second European destination chosen by the British for this type of tourism, only surpassed by Paris”.
This recovery of international tourism has caught the city with its homework done. Before covid, almost 80% of tourism demand came from international travelers. The closure of borders forced the sector to focus on attracting domestic tourism. He got it. “The reopening of borders has strongly promoted the recovery of US tourism, which has traditionally always been one of the highest spenders. Although there are still Asians missing, who are prohibited from going out, the international demand in Barcelona has added to the national demand captured during the pandemic, and this has pushed up prices. The city has managed to attract a client who was not only eager to get out and travel to get even with the restrictions of the pandemic, but also willing to pay more”, explains Bruno Hallé, partner and co-director of Cushman
Cushman's report analyzes the activity of the first six months of 2022, in which the outbreak of the omicron variant of the coronavirus paralyzed the recovery that had begun in the fall of 2021 during January and February. Despite this, Barcelona, like that all of Spain and Europe have felt the powerful champagne effect of a suppressed desire to travel and leave restrictions behind.
The general opinion in the sector is that this effect on demand will be powerful enough to push revenue and activity data above the levels recorded in 2019. It remains to be seen whether the benefits will also be there. “The pricing strategy is also being affected by inflation and energy prices. At the moment it is difficult to have a greater impact on the price increase in the hotel product so as not to affect demand, but after the summer season it will be necessary to plan the following months with a view to the operating margin", warns Bruno Hallé, for whom "autumn gives very afraid".
In any case, there is still summer left and the covid has left it as a legacy to wait until the last minute to plan the holidays. This, together with the sharp rise in hotel prices and general inflation, has led to at least 76% of those who have not yet started their vacation waiting to get a discount before making their final decision, according to a study carried out the travel booking website Weekendesk.es. It ensures that "the categories related to last minute promotions have become the most sought after by travelers during the month of July." In this case, the main destination is not Barcelona, but Catalonia, followed by Andalusia and the Valencian Community. Although the final decision will depend on the percentage of discount that these customers can get.
Waiting for what may happen in the coming months, the truth is that tourism continues to be one of the few sectors of the Spanish economy that still gives joy. Between April and June, activities linked to tourism registered 391,343 more employed persons compared to the same quarter of the previous year, which represents half of the employment created during that period in the Spanish economy as a whole (776,000), reaching 2,718,098 employed persons, 0.8% more than in the same period of 2019, according to data published yesterday by Turespaña. Thus, active workers in tourism in the second quarter of the year were close to three million (2,953,571), 13.8% more than in the same period of the previous year.
