Tourists in Barcelona spent €9.6 billion in 2023, up 14.7% from 2019

Spending by tourists in Barcelona reached €9.6 billion in 2023, an increase of 14.7% compared to 2019, according to the Tourism Observatory of Barcelona.

More than 12 million people visited Barcelona last year, which represents a 6.9% decrease compared to four years ago. 

80% of the tourists who stayed in the city were from abroad, consolidating Barcelona as the leader in the number of overnight stays by international visitors in Spain. 

The United States is the top nationality among tourists visiting Barcelona, with more than one million visitors. Close behind are visitors from the United Kingdom, France, Italy and Germany.

Visitors from Japan and Russia experienced the largest declines, dropping 53% and 64%, respectively.

Tourism employment soars

Nearly 130,000 contracts were signed last year in the entire tourism sector in Barcelona. For the first time, more than half of them were permanent contracts. 

The number of unemployed in the tourism sector is under 7,000 people, the second lowest figure since 2007.

The tourism sector employs around 100,000 people in the city, 3.2% more than in 2019.