Back in 1990, Barcelona’s hotels – which account for the largest share of overnight tourists in the city – hosted 1.73 million guests. In 2022, this number amounted to nearly seven million, even with the effect of the impact of the coronavirus (COVID-19) pandemic. In that same year, the United States, France, and the United Kingdom were among the main international source markets for Barcelona's hotel industry. Moreover, the Catalonian capital has also largely contributed to placing its region among the three most visited autonomous communities by Spanish tourists.
Barcelona’s main tourist attractions
Barcelona might have the Olympic Games to thank for its current international recognition. However, its beautiful architecture and its cultural offer are the aspects that have consolidated the city as an attractive tourist destination. Antoni Gaudi’s architectural masterpieces and museums such as those devoted to Pablo Picasso and Barcelona’s history museum are only a few examples from a very long list of unmissable places and monuments in this Mediterranean city. Gaudi’s Park Güell and La Sagrada Família – still under construction – received more than one million visitors each in 2021, maintaining their top places in the ranking of Barcelona’s most visited attractions despite the COVID-19 pandemic. And with approximately 700 thousand visitors, the aquarium was placed third place that year.A place for every type of visitor
Although in recent years most of the people who traveled to Barcelona did so for leisure or vacation purposes, the business travel industry also plays a key role in the economy of this Spanish city, with renowned national and international meetings, incentives, conventions, and exhibitions attracting thousands of professionals from all around the globe. In 2021, Barcelona was also counted among the world’s top city destinations for remote workers, offering the largest number of Tripadvisor plans, the second average WiFi speed, and the third-highest number of co-working spaces among the studied cities. As of early 2022, Catalonia’s capital was also the sixth most visited city by digital nomads.
