Barcelona begins 2026 with a 20% year-on-year increase in intercontinental connectivity

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

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

• Air capacity in Barcelona for January is estimated to be 4,6 million seats (+0,0% year-on-year).
• It is expected that during the month, 32 cruise ships will arrive to the Port of Barcelona, above the same month in 2025.
• The cultural and leisure agenda will start out the year with the continuation of the Christmas celebrations around the destination, with living nativity scenes, the Three Kings Parade (05/01), Christmas markets and light shows around different iconic monuments such as Casa Batlló (14/11-14/01), Sant Pau (20/11-11/01), el Tibidabo (29/11-05/01) and el Poble Espanyol (29/11-04/01). The New Year will also be the highlight of the month, with the New Year’s Eve show in Barcelona (31/12-01/01) and the New Year’s concert at Liceu (04/01). In terms of sports, there will be multiple football games throughout January for la Liga and the Champions league featuring FCB (men and women’s football) and RCDE. When it comes to culture and fairs, there will be the Artisans and Flea market fair in Vic (06/12-04/01), the Artisans’ fair in Granollers (12/12-05/01), and the Tenor Viñas contest in Barcelona (10/01-18/01).
• In terms of the conference and fair calendar, there are 5 confirmed congresses and almost 66.000 delegates in January. The largest event will be the ICE and iGB Affiliate 2026 (65.000 attendees).
• Most countries will have Christmas holidays on the first week of the year. The United States will also have holidays the 19^th and 26^th of January, whereas Argentina will enjoy vacations throughout the month.
• In the past month, Google searches for Barcelona have been slightly above the ones in the same period for 2024. The most popular searches in Barcelona city are still Sagrada Familia. Among the rising searches, winter-related topics such as snow, la Molina and Santa Llúcia can be found.
• Hotel bookings in the past month have been led by the domestic market especially in Barcelona region, where they represent almost 2 in every 3 reservations. In Barcelona city the United States continues to lead the international market, whilst for Barcelona region it has been France. About 2 out of 3 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.
• Compared to other European destinations, Barcelona city will have a similar level of hotel bookings as Amsterdam, and above the level of most cities mentioned in the report. Barcelona region is significantly below the aforementioned.

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