The challenge of tourism

Tourism has become a key sector for the Catalan economy, with a contribution of over 12% of the gross domestic product (GDP). The attractiveness of this territory, and especially of Barcelona, is not diminished by the heatwaves that have occurred in recent weeks or by the increased cost of airline tickets and transport in general. In fact, visitors from other countries are the ones that have grown the most, with almost 2.7 million in July, a figure that represents an increase of 2.5% compared to the same period last year and a new record in the historical series, which collects data since 1999. As the data evolves, everything seems to be on track to set a real record, which would place Spain at 100 million tourists this year. Catalonia, with Barcelona as the main pole of attraction, receives around a third of the total foreign visitors.

The volumes of visitors reached represent a challenge for the authorities, as it is necessary to reconcile these activities and the externalities produced by tourists (use of public space, services, transport...) with phenomena such as gentrification with the development of the daily life of residents in all tourist municipalities, starting with the capital of Catalonia. Excesses cause discomfort, as has been seen in recent weeks in Mallorca or Menorca, with different protests led by a good representation of their inhabitants. In Barcelona, too, there were protests some time ago due to the concentration of tourist apartment offerings, which led the City Council to announce the suppression of licenses in 2028.

The fact is that the perception of Catalonia – and Spain in general – as a safe tourist destination increases its attractiveness as a destination, especially in a context marked by geopolitical tensions in the Middle East. According to data from the National Statistics Institute (INE), more than 1.8 million international tourists visited Catalonia during the month of July, which represents an increase of 3.1% in year-on-year terms and a new record since data collection began.

One of the options to maintain the weight of the tourism business are policies and strategies to modulate or limit the number of visitors, but at the same time to achieve that their spending increases, which would mean more quality than quantity. One way could be that of Barcelona, a different model from sun and beach that, according to the authors of the Fènix Report, a study on the structural problems, low productivity and unsustainability of the current Catalan economic model, would increase the value of the activity without the need to be based on volume.

The data seems to point in this direction. After a 2025 in which the average spending per night by tourists barely varied, in July the growth rate accelerated, with an increase of 6.1%. A good part of this trend corresponds to tourism in Barcelona and its metropolitan area. A way to maintain and increase business could be to decentralize the offer and make spending grow much more than the number of visitors, not only in Barcelona and its metropolitan area, but also in other tourist spots in the country.