This summer, tourists have been seen again in the center of Barcelona, but the figures are not, by far, those recorded during 2019, a record year for the sector. According to the Gremi d'Hotels de Barcelona, this has been a bad season that has ended up picking up as the weeks went by. Hotel occupancy started the summer below 30% during the month of June, but this last fortnight of August has already risen to 70%, making the average for the entire summer stand at 55%. This improvement is basically explained by advances in the vaccination campaign and the repeal of travel restrictions to Spain that European countries approved at the beginning of summer with the fifth wave.
The gradual recovery of activity will mean that August will close with an occupancy of 65% in the 220 hotels that are open in Barcelona, a figure that represents half of all the establishments in the city. Some 35,000 rooms have been offered, slightly less than half of all available, taking into account that many establishments have not made all their available places available to customers. This translates into about 19,000 visitors sleeping daily in the city, almost 70% less than in 2019, when about 60,000 tourists did so.
The general director of the Gremi d'Hotels de Barcelona, Manel Casals, points out that the occupancy figure would still be lower if all hotels had opened and would have fallen to 25%. It should also be taken into account that hotels have lowered prices to attract more customers, reducing the income they have been able to obtain this season.
The general director of the Gremi d'Hotels de Barcelona, Manel Casals, points out that the occupancy figure would still be lower if all hotels had opened and would have fallen to 25%Despite everything, the feeling among the hotels that have opened is that, at least, it has been a better summer than last year's, when the pandemic completely paralyzed foreign tourism in the city. This is the case of Royal Hotels, with establishments in Paseo de Gràcia and La Rambla. The general director of the hotel group, Àlex Puig, points out that occupancy has been approximately 85% in the Paseo de Gràcia hotel and 82% in the Rambla hotel, offering all rooms and more adjusted prices in both. "We have achieved very good numbers compared to July and August 2020, but we are far from the data for the same months in 2019. We have doubled revenues this year, compared to 2020, and we are between 30% and 35% short of 2019 revenues," he explains.
For Puig, the difference between how August went compared to July has been clear. "August went much better than July. It was obvious because the border situation was different during July, there were many limitations. Now that international travel has been made more flexible, the situation has improved," he states. Likewise, regarding the origin of clients in Royal hotels, France and Italy have been the main emitters, in addition to tourists from the rest of Spain. As a good sign, the general director of the hotel group indicates that clientele from the Middle East and the United States has started to be seen.
In the coming months, Puig emphasizes the importance that the reactivation of business travel and congresses will have. "Looking ahead to September, we expect a considerable reactivation of activity, among pharmaceutical companies, business trips and national companies... All with small groups. For now, we start September with an occupancy of 45% and we expect to close with data reaching up to 70%," he maintains.
This type of client has been the same that allowed another hotel, the Hyatt Regency Barcelona Tower in L'Hospitalet de Llobregat, previously known as Hesperia Tower, to advance its reopening, which was scheduled for September and ended up happening in mid-August. After a year and six months, the hotel crowned by a UFO returned to activity with almost all rooms occupied for a week by a pharmaceutical company, guests who were the first to enjoy the renovation that had been premiered just before the pandemic and that the confinement prevented from being valued. After this first large reservation, the Hyatt Regency Barcelona Tower continues to detect how this type of reservation is increasing.
Waiting for the Mobile
From the Gremi d'Hotels, they observe the same reactivation of business trips and congresses as in the Royal hotels and the Hyatt Regency Barcelona Tower. Casals points out that reservations for company meetings, not large ones, are starting to be made, requests that had not been registered until now. Even so, he does not see any major event in the last quarter that would allow closing a good season this 2021.
According to the latest data from the Barcelona Tourism Observatory, there are 31 congresses confirmed in the city until the end of the year. The first congress after the summer will be the XVI International Conference on Computational Plasticity (COMPLAS 2021), which will begin on September 7 and expects to receive 300 attendees. On the other hand, the next fairs will be Equiplast, Eurosurfas and Expoquimia, which will start on September 14 at Fira de Barcelona.
According to the latest data from the Barcelona Tourism Observatory, there are 31 congresses confirmed in the city until the end of the yearIn fact, the fair institution foresees a rather lively last quarter, with the celebration of the IAPAA leisure fair (28/09-30/09), the Automobile Barcelona (30/09-10/10), the Boat Show (12/10-17/10), Caravaning (16/10-24/10) and the Smart City Expo World Congress (16/11-18/11), among others. Precisely this autumn two new congresses will premiere in the city, coinciding with the Smart City Expo:Tomorrow.Mobility World Congress, which will focus on new trends in mobility, andPuzzle X, which will debate what the materials of the future are.
However, Casals marks on the calendar two dates next year that must allow measuring what the new situation is in the post-coronavirus world of business tourism in Barcelona, which represents half of the sector's income, and if 2022 will be the year in which tourist activity will definitively recover in the city. Specifically, hoteliers are awaiting the celebration of the Mobile World Congress (MWC) and the Integrated Systems Europe (ISE). Both will take place in February, after their small editions this summer. "It will be key: it has to be the moment when we notice the change," he remarks.
... And cruises
Another unknown that the hotel guild still has pending is the new normal in the cruise sector. With the departure of the first cruise at the end of June, the MSC Grandiosa, shipping companies have been recovering routes this summer, and even those operating luxury cruises have done so. From the Barcelona Tourism Observatory, they point out that a total of 25 companies will operate 116 cruises in the Port of Barcelona between August and October. MSC Cruises and Aida Cruises will be the ones with the largest volume of operations, with 17 and 15 cruises respectively. Likewise, a notable increase in activity is expected in October, with 55 arrivals and calls.
A total of 25 companies will operate 116 cruises in the Port of Barcelona between August and October: MSC Cruises and Aida Cruises will be the ones with the largest volume of operationsCasals reasons that it remains to be seen how this sector will end up working.The main difference they are seeing compared to the pre-COVID era is that back then, cruise passengers would land a couple of days before in the city to start the route, and now it's different. But the first signs are already arriving, as confirmed by the general director of Royal Hotels, who has noticed the return of cruises this summer, especially in the establishment closest to the Port. "We have seen a more lively Rambla," he summarizes.