Barcelona's main shopping streets have seen their footfall multiply by five in the first quarter of 2022 and have surpassed pre-pandemic levels, thanks to the reactivation of tourism, according to a study by the consultancy CBRE. The report also highlights that in less commercial areas, a higher number of pedestrians has been registered, as residents have reconquered the city streets to go to their workplaces.
The most central arteries and those most frequented by national or international visitors are those that have had the greatest increase in the number of people, two years after the pandemic. The comparison in the Retail Analytics report by the real estate consultancy determines that Barcelona is recovering the flow of commercial tourism after the fall in the last quarter of 2021 and the city's main shopping streets are noticing the arrival of national and international tourism.
Specifically, pedestrian traffic on the city's busiest street, Avenida del Portal de l'Àngel, increased by 385% from January to last March, in relation to the first quarter of 2021, almost five times more.
Another of the commercial arteries par excellence, which attracts most of the shopping destinations for high-purchasing-power visitors, Paseo de Gràcia, has seen a 291% increase in the number of pedestrians compared to the first quarter of 2021. "Paseo de Gràcia is a street with international representation that generates a lot of interest," assures Susana Elhombre, director of High Street at CBRE Barcelona. The increase in the influx of international tourists on this commercial axis has been 32% in the first three months of the year, compared to the figures from the end of 2021.
Barcelona recovers the flow of commercial tourism after the fall in the last quarter of 2021Added to the progressive increase in the number of tourists is the fact that resident citizens have already recovered the city after the pandemic and even more so in recent months when a part of them have returned to in-person work. This makes streets like Portaferrisa, where the number of national and foreign visitors is also high, have 30% local pedestrians. Specifically, this commercial street has increased the number of pedestrians by 280% since last January, almost four times more compared to the data from the first quarter of last year.
According to data extracted from the Retail Analytics report, the 22@ area has also been one of the busiest in recent weeks. Pedestrian traffic in this neighborhood has grown by 236% from January to March, compared to data from the first quarter of 2021. The improvement in footfall in this area, which stands out for its innovative character and the presence of startups and technology companies, is explained by the return of workers to their companies.