Barcelona hopes to welcome 50% of the number of tourists in 2019 this summer

Barcelona is already looking forward beyond the pandemic and aims at welcoming large numbers of tourists back to the city this summer. 

The Barcelona tourism board is aiming to have 50% of the number of 2019 visitors come to the city during this year’s holiday period. 

The general director of the group, Marian Muro, believe that the idea of a health passport "can help a lot" in establishing free movement in Europe and avoiding quarantines. 

Muro believes that the Russian market is "ready to go" and the Barcelona Tourism board envisages more reservations from American visitors by the end of the year. "It's a 'premium' audience,” she explains, which often hires “highly personalized, tailor-made trips for groups of people." 

In contrast, she thinks the Southeast Asian market will take more time to revive, with a recovery scheduled for 2022.

Want to work remotely and live in Barcelona?

In parallel, the consortium has launched a new campaign they call 'Workation', aiming to position the Catalan capital as the perfect location from which to work remotely. 

The project is aimed at "digital nomads" and people working from home during the pandemic who want to take advantage of working at a distance to their physical places of work, while the scheme is also hoped to help revive activity in the city after the health crisis.

The campaign, with an investment of €100,000, aims to respond to the desires of some people abroad to change their home for a season thanks to the possibilities of remote working. 

In fact, in a survey prior to the launch of the campaign, 68% of people said they were working remotely as a result of the pandemic and 77% admitted to being willing to change residence. Among the guiding factors that would determine their destination, 86% prioritized connectivity; 69% referred to coronavirus safety; 63% mentioned house prices and 50% stressed the importance of climate.

Given this, the Barcelona Tourism board wants to position the Catalan capital as a destination from which to work remotely. The consortium hopes to help increase the occupancy of tourist hotels and apartments in the city and activate other services such as catering or trade. It also plans to develop a new strategic segment, with special attention to millennials.