Hotel occupancy records in Catalonia despite the increase in prices

BarcelonaNever before had so many tourists stayed in hotels in Catalonia as in the first nine months of this year, when they exceeded 18.7 million guests, 4.42% more than in the same period last year. However, stays continue to become shorter, in a context where tourism services are becoming more expensive above inflation.

According to data from the National Statistics Institute (INE) published this Friday and analyzed by ARA, on average each tourist has spent 2.71 hotel nights in Catalonia since the beginning of the year, compared to the 2.76 recorded in 2024. Despite this reduction, for the first time hotels have exceeded the threshold of 50 million overnight stays.

The reduction in the number of nights has been dragging on for more than a decade. If we look at the year-to-date total – in order to avoid distortions caused by seasonality – it has been falling since 2013, when it reached 3.18 nights. In the first years of the century, stays exceeded 3.5 overnight stays.

September is still cheaper

Hotel demand has remained in a context of rising prices, as has happened all over the world. The average rate from January to September throughout Catalonia has exceeded 138 euros, five more than in the first nine months of 2024. However, the inherent seasonality of tourism prevents estimating roughly the cumulative increases since the beginning of the year based on the monthly data published this Friday by the INE.

In September a hotel room was 5.88% more expensive than a year ago, above the 4.5% inflation rate, but, as usual, below the increases of July and August. In the middle of summer, rooms in Catalonia exceeded 150 euros per night, and rose more than 6% compared to the previous year.

Beyond seasonality, the differences between territories are also notable. While in the province of Barcelona it costs 157 euros on average, in Lleida the price moderates to 92 euros, close to the 99 euros in Tarragona, and the 105 euros in Girona.