El Maresme remains one of the most important tourist attractions in Catalonia, exceeding 2.2 million tourists, almost 52,000 more than the previous year, and with more than 7.7 million overnight stays, according to the 2023 Annual Summary of Tourist Activity in the Barcelona Environment prepared by the Tourism Laboratory (LABturisme) of the Barcelona Provincial Council.
Depending on the type of accommodation, those with the most occupancy in the region have been hotels and guesthouses, with more than 1.5 million travelers and 5.3 million overnight stays, exceeding the data from the previous year. Regarding campsites, more than 666,000 tourists and 2.4 million overnight stays have been registered; and rural tourism has received almost 4,000 tourists, which have accounted for 9,000 overnight stays.
53.3% of the tourists who have spent their holidays in Maresme have been local and 46.5% have been foreigners. It is the region of the province of Barcelona that most attracts tourists, behind Barcelonès, concentrating 33.6% of the demand. It is also the one with the highest average stay, almost four nights for foreign travelers and exceeding three for domestic tourists. According to the LABturisme report, the collection of the tourist tax in Maresme has exceeded 4.1 million euros.
The majority of tourists who visit the province of Barcelona are local, from other parts of Catalonia, exceeding one million people. However, the most important increase in domestic tourism travelers and overnight stays comes from the Community of Madrid, with 230,604 travelers and more than 446,000 overnight stays.
Foreign tourists visiting the region come mainly from the United Kingdom, followed by France and Germany. More than 248,000 American and Italian tourists visit the area around Barcelona, but the majority of those who stay overnight are from the Netherlands and Poland; almost reaching one million overnight stays.
Practically 62% of tourists are men and 80% come accompanied by their partner or family and in groups of 4 people. The average age of travelers is 43 years old and more than 51% have repeated their vacation spot in the last 10 years. Traveler satisfaction remains as positive as in 2022, with 8.4 points out of 10.
