The Trump era begins to impact Barcelona's tourism
Unlike the rest of the state, the city sees a decrease in hotel occupancy and room rates.
BarcelonaBarcelona's hoteliers have been warning for months that the momentum is slowing down. After years of record-breaking growth, tourism is slowing down in the Catalan capital, a trend accelerated by the decline in American tourism in the new Donald Trump era, as increasingly evident data shows. During the third quarter, indicators such as employment, average price, and revenue per room decreased compared to last year, unlike what happened in other major tourist cities in the country.
Specifically, hotel occupancy this summer stood at 79.3% in Barcelona, 0.7% less than a year ago, according to a barometer prepared by the consulting firm Cushman & Wakefield and the analysis company STR. Despite the drop, Barcelona's establishments remain fuller than those in Madrid, with 75.6% occupancy, but below Malaga (83.3%), Alicante (83.1%), or the Canary Islands (81.6%).
"The US market is very important for the city of Barcelona. With the devaluation of the euro against the dollar, the city has suffered an impact. This doesn't mean that American citizens won't continue to come, but they have a different profile: they spend less in restaurants and hotels. Prices need to come down," maintains partner and co-director Hallé. The economic crises experienced by European countries, also strong source markets for the Catalan capital, are not helping either.
In this sense, after having climbed excessively, with rooms for 200 euros a night in the Catalan capital, prices are also beginning to fall slightly. "Barcelona is a city where we've seen double-digit price increases in recent years, and now we're seeing a stabilization," Hallé says. For now, the price decrease is 0.3%, but rooms remain above €190 in the city, behind only destinations like Marbella (€388.6) and the Balearic Islands (€234.7).
Lower revenue per room
Along with employment, the indicator that has seen the greatest year-over-year decline in Barcelona is revenue per room, down 0.9% to €153.50. The Catalan capital remains one of the destinations with the highest revenue, but is failing to maintain growth, compared to Marbella, Zaragoza, and the Balearic Islands, which have seen double-digit revenue increases.