The Luxury Tourism Grows in Barcelona

The hotel and luxury accommodation park is key for the development of the luxury market both in cities and countries. Developing a thriving retail in luxury is not possible if tourists with high purchasing power don’t have a property that is at the level of their expectations and needs. Therefore, if bottlenecks occur in the tourist offer of flights and hotels, it directly harms luxury stores and other sectors operating around luxury.

Barcelona is, nowadays, a popular destination to be reckoned by millions of tourists from around the world, and especially by tourists looking for grand luxury hotels and exclusive suites with top quality service. But even though the offer is still far from that of cities like London, Paris or New York, it has the capacity to grow and is doing it steadily.

Currently, Barcelona has several 5-star grand luxury hotels: the Mandarin Oriental, the Palace, the Arts Barcelona Hotel (Ritz Carlton), the Casa Fuster, the W Barcelona, the ABAC, the Grand Hotel La Florida, the Majestic, the Miramar Barcelona and the Claris Hotel. However, the accommodation capacity of these hotels is very limited to what the city can, and should, be able to accommodate.

The growth in both occupancy and average price has been increasing each year, which encourages new investors to take positions in Barcelona. Thanks to an increased offer, the city will be able to attract more tourists willing to buy luxury at Passeig de Gràcia, or enjoy a wonderful dinner in one of the most prestigious restaurants that Barcelona offers.

Aena sources consulted say that the El Prat Airport has enough infrastructure to handle up to 55 million passengers annually. However, the latest data from last year amounted to only 37.5. According to Aena, they can undertake up to 90 operations per hour, but at the moment the maximum reached is only 68. «The biggest issue is not about capacity but about schedules because that is the eternal battle between airlines to get the best slots «, says Ignasi Jorro of 02B.

For the moment, the Espelt family, owner of the hotel chain H10 has announced that it will open a 5-star hotel in the city close to the Golden Mile of Passeig de Gràcia. They already have five 5-star hotels on the coast, but not yet in the city.

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