Tourism industry closes 'really positive' summer season in Catalonia

The tourism sector in Catalonia foresees is closing the summer season with "positive" figures, leaving the pandemic completely behind. 

"We are closing the summer with 29% more bookings than last year, which is higher than the Spanish general average of 17%," Destinia, an online travel agency, comments. 

"The first semester of the year has been great, and July was a bit better in numbers compared to August," Eduard Torres, the president of Tourism Barcelona tells Catalan News Agency (ACN). 

During the month of August, the growth has been slower as a consequence of the beginning of a recession in Europe, especially in countries like Germany which represents a lot of tourists in Catalonia. 

Eduard Torres predicts that this trend will continue in the coming months. However, Barcelona is still an attractive destination for tourists from Europe and North America, "especially with big concerts and sporting events like F1," he adds.

Getting more tourists from Asia is still a challenge, as the recovery of connecting flights has been slower. "This year's challenge is to increase the number of flights connecting Barcelona with Asia," Torres said. 

The price per person per night in hotels in Catalonia has increased by 2%, with an average of €56.

However, tourist apartments have seen bigger growth this summer. "The demand is bigger than the offer, so the average price rises in Barcelona and therefore tourists spend more in the city," says Enrique Alcántara, president of Apartur, the Association of Tourist Apartments in Barcelona.