Destination Barcelona celebrates the arrival of Christmas with a cultural and leisure programme packed with family activities
Christmas markets, live Nativity scenes, concerts and Christmas plays are just a few of the features of a family Christmas in Destination Barcelona. This Christmas programme is once again attracting large numbers of visitors, with hotel bookings for the festival season (most from the Spanish market) already surpassing last year’s figures.
In addition to the traditional Christmas activities, highlights include Els Llums de Sant Pau, a tour of this modernista site that transforms its gardens and pavilions into an immersive space with light and music; NATALIS, at Poble Espanyol, which offers six themed Christmas worlds with family activities and a festive atmosphere; and the traditional Banyada Nadalenca de Calella bathing activity one of the most unique traditions on the Barcelona coast.
The Sagrada Família, one of the most frequent online search terms related to Barcelona (in addition to the weather, and what to visit in the city and the region), will also be one of the most popular spaces in the city at Christmas.
Most hotel bookings are from Spanish tourists
Meanwhile, the tourism indicators in the report “Tourism Outlook in Destination Barcelona” – prepared by the Barcelona Tourism Observatory: city and region – show that hotel reservations in Barcelona city for the months of December, January and February are up on last year, with an average stay of 3.2 nights.
Compared to other destinations, the wider Barcelona region and London see the longest average stays (3.7 nights), followed by the city of Barcelona, and Berlin, Amsterdam and Paris (3.1). The origin of most hotel reservations is the Spanish market (27.6%), followed by the United States (10%), Italy (6.5%) and France (6.4%). Regarding travel arrangements, six out of ten reservations are for couples.
The mobility data from this study also reflect this strong performance. The air capacity of Josep Tarradellas Barcelona-El Prat Airport is expected to be 5.2 million seats in December, 5.5% up on the same period last year. In December, forty cruise ships will also arrive at the Port of Barcelona, more than in 2024. Six of these will stop in Barcelona for one or more nights.
Good times for business tourism in Barcelona
The Observatory report also highlights the promising prospects for business tourism in the city. With five confirmed conferences and 2,000 delegates, the outlook for the coming months is positive. There are around fifteen conferences planned for the first half of 2026, which will see almost 200,000 delegates come to the city. These figures speak to Barcelona’s strength as an international capital for conferences and professional events.
