Easter boosts hotel reservations this March

The Barcelona Tourism Observatory: city and region publishes a new report on the Destination Barcelona tourism activity forecast for March.

Below are the main conclusions of this new edition of the report:

• Air capacity in Barcelona for March is estimated to be 5,4 million seats (+3,8% year-on-year).
• It is expected that during the month, 51 cruise ships will arrive to the Port of Barcelona, above the same month in 2025.
• The cultural and leisure agenda will be marked by festivals and cultural activities, such as the International Magic Festival at Badalona (08/02-01/03), the BCN Sports Film Festival at Barcelona (23/02-03/03), the Vintage Car Rally at Sitges (28/02-01/03), the Brain Film Fest at Barcelona 811/03-15/03), the FLIC Festival at Barcelona (14/03-15/03), the Passion at Esparreguera and Olesa de Montserrat (18/03-22/03) and the D’A Film Festival at Barcelona (19/03-29/03). Sports events will also stand out, such as the Zurich Barcelona Marathon (15/03), the Gran Fondo Scott Calella (15/03) and the Cycling Tour of Catalonia (23/03-29/03). Finally, musical events will also be held, such as the Café Jazz Calella (06/02-27/03), the Jazz Terrassa (01/03-31/03) and the Mostra Festival at Barcelona (13/03-15/03).
• In terms of the conference and fair calendar, there are 15 confirmed congresses and almost 96.000 delegates in March. The largest event will be the Mobile World Congress 2026, with around 100.000 expected attendees.
• The Easter Week will take place at the end of March and start of April, and will bring holidays for the majority of the countries in the report. China will also enjoy holidays during the first week of March for the Chinese New Year.
• In the past month, Google searches for Barcelona have been above the ones in the same period for 2025. The most popular searches in Barcelona city are the beaches and Sagrada Familia. Among the rising searches, beach-related topics and more practical terms such as restaurants, hotels and tours can be found.
• Hotel bookings in the past month have been led by the domestic market especially in Barcelona region, where they represent more than half the reservations. The United States have led the international market for both Barcelona city and Barcelona region. Around 6 out of 10 bookings have been couples’ trips.
• Currently, the level of reservations for the upcoming months are higher than the previous year in both Barcelona city and especially Barcelona region. It is worth noting that this year Easter will be held between March and April, boosting March and moderating April compared to 2025.
• Compared to other European destinations, Barcelona city will have a similar level of hotel bookings as Amsterdam, and similar to the average from the cities mentioned in the report. Barcelona region is significantly below the aforementioned.

More information: Tourism Activity Outlook Report for Destination Barcelona (2026-III)