City Travel Briefing: Barcelona

Key Findings

Recognisable brand blending historic culture and modern innovation

Barcelona is associated with design, creativity, innovation, culture and quality of life. It is reinventing itself by developing into a more sustainable urban model destination. Hosting Mobile World Capital until 2018 is driving the city's sustainable mobility. 

Capacity being exceeded blights city

Local government has declared a moratorium on new hotel licences, and has applied tougher measures and higher fines on unregistered and illegal apartment rentals. The latter, in particular, have been blamed for a substantial increase in the number of tourists visiting the city, which has led to protests and unrest.

Terrorist attack has little impact

The August 2017 terrorist attack in Barcelona echoed similar attacks in Berlin, New York and London. The limited impact on tourist numbers highlights the resilience now felt in Europe regarding this type of attack.

Declaration of independence creates uncertainty

Since the Catalonian Government declared independence, unrest and uncertainty have prevailed. While Spain is tightening its grip on the region, Barcelona found itself in the middle of a political storm. The referendum of 1 October negatively affected the arrivals of tourists in the last quarter of 2017, but inbound tourist arrivals in Barcelona proved resilient of the political instability in 2018. Concerns over the future political stability of the region remain, however.

Continuing to innovate

In an overcrowded city, where locals and tourists need to find ways to share communal spaces and amenities, smart city initiatives are of utmost importance. Barcelona is working hard to become smarter for a more sustainable future.