Barcelona Tourism Statistics

Page last updated: 20 January 2025

Known for its famous architecture, particularly the renowned La Sagrada Familia, Parc Güell, Casa Batlló, and La Pedrera, Barcelona welcomes millions of tourists every year.

How many people visit Barcelona City every year?

Over 14 million people visited Barcelona City annually before the pandemic.

In 2024 (January to November), over 11.71 million tourists visited Barcelona, an increase from the previous year but still below the levels seen in 2019. 

• Barcelona City welcomed 14.6 million visitors in 2019.

• Tourism fell to 3.3 million visitors in 2020 and 6.3 million in 2021 due to the coronavirus pandemic.

• The recovery began in 2022, with 12.4 million visitors, and the numbers remained the same in 2023, which was 73% higher than 2020 but 15% lower than 2019.¹
  

How many people visited Barcelona City in 2024?

Over 11.7 million tourists visited Barcelona City in 2024 (January to November), which was a 5% increase compared to 2023. However, this was 2.8% lower than the 2019 numbers.²

• This total includes international and domestic tourists staying in HUTs (Holiday Use Tourist Apartments), hostels and primarily in hotel establishments.

From January to November 2024, a total of 7.8 million tourists stayed in hotel establishments in Barcelona City, representing a 2% increase compared to the same period in 2023.

Tourists Staying in Hotel Establishments in Barcelona City in 2024

Month	Number of Tourists
January	542,742
February	589,264
March	700,277
April	724,151
May	794,393
June	750,342
July	800,195
August	786,238
September	711,800
October	767,773
November	657,072
December	not available yet
YTD Total	7,824,247

How many people visited Barcelona City in 2023?

• Over 12.4 million tourists visited Barcelona City in 2023, representing a recovery from the pandemic but the figure was still slightly below pre-pandemic levels.
  
  

How many people visited Barcelona City in 2022?

• Barcelona City welcomed 12.4 million visitors in 2022, showing a rebound from the pandemic’s impact.
  

How much do visitors spend in Barcelona City every year?

Visitor spending in Barcelona City generated €9.6 billion in 2023.

• This number was up 26% compared to €7.1 billion in 2022 and 15% higher than €8.2 billion in 2019.³

• Data on tourism revenue for 2020 and 2021 is not available.
  
  

How much did people spend in Barcelona City in 2022?

Barcelona City generated €7.1 billion in tourism expenditure in 2022.

• While food and beverages accounted for the largest share of daily spending by visitors in Barcelona City, the purchase of clothing, souvenirs, and other personal articles took another 16.8% or around €85 of a visitor’s daily expenditure.
  

Where do visitors to Barcelona City come from?

The largest groups of international visitors are from the US, followed by the UK, France, Italy, and Germany.

• Visits from Japanese and Russian tourists dropped by 53.4% and 64.5%, respectively.
  

How long do international tourists stay in Barcelona City?

• The average duration of stays for international tourists in Barcelona City ranges from 2.7 to 3 nights.
  
  
  

Spain Travel Resources

Impact of Coronavirus – Barcelona City Tourism Statistics 2020

• In 2020, Barcelona City experienced a significant reduction in visitors due to the coronavirus pandemic.
  
• Tourism visits dropped by 77% in 2020 compared to the 2019 pre-pandemic period.
  

How popular is Barcelona City as a tourist destination?

Barcelona City is the 3^rd top city in Europe and 10^th in the world in terms of number of visitors and spending by international tourism.⁴

• Barcelona, Spain suffers from severe overtourism, which resulted in 3,000 residents protesting on July 6 2024. Residents demanded reduced tourist numbers and for the government to prioritize fairer economies.
  

Top attractions in Barcelona City

• La Sagrada Família: Designed by Antoni Gaudí, this basilica attracts an annual average of over 4.5 million visitors, making it one of the most visited landmarks in Barcelona.

• Parc Güell: A park featuring gardens, architectural elements, and panoramic hillside views, visited by an average of 3 million people annually.

• Casa Batlló: A UNESCO World Heritage site and cultural icon of Barcelona, it welcomes approximately 1 million visitors per year.

• La Pedrera (Casa Milà): Known as one of Gaudí’s most innovative civic designs, it attracts around 1.2 million visitors annually.

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References

1. Observatori:Key Tourism Figures of Barcelona ↩︎
2. BarcelonaCat: Activitat turística Ciutat de Barcelona Novembre 2024 ↩︎
3. BarcelonaCat: Growth in the Economic Return from Tourism ↩︎
4. BarcelonaCat: The Tourism Sector in Barcelona ↩︎