News
Barcelona backs cultural tourism and open-air Christmas walks
Barcelona is promoting its winter campaign with cultural routes and open-air Christmas walks. The city wants to attract travellers in the low season with authentic plans.
Barcelona has launched a new winter tourism campaign focused on local culture, walks through neighbourhoods and outdoor experiences during Christmas. With mild weather even in the colder months, the aim is to attract visitors seeking an authentic immersion in urban life, away from the busiest seasons.
The initiative, called Barcelona Winter Walk and promoted by Turismo de Barcelona, seeks to reduce the seasonal nature of tourism and attract profiles interested in culture, leisure, conferences and local gastronomy. According to the consortium, the challenge is to balance types of visitors and promote high-quality experiences.
The director general of Turismo de Barcelona, Mateu Hernández, highlights that the campaign showcases the pleasure of walking through neighbourhoods in winter, enjoying Modernist architecture, local shops and a wide cultural programme. The proposal includes ten outdoor plans, from exhibitions and concerts to food routes and sporting activities.
Recommended activities include the exhibition Miró y Estados Unidos at the Fundació Joan Miró, the opera L’elisir d’amore at the Gran Teatre del Liceu, classical concerts at the Palau de la Música Catalana and photographic exhibitions at the Palau de la Virreina. Culinary traditions such as escudella and turrón, the Cabalgata de Reyes and running circuits among Modernist buildings are also highlighted.
The campaign is already being promoted in international markets such as France, Italy and the United Kingdom, coinciding with the Christmas lights switch-on in Barcelona. Its message aims to break stereotypes about winter tourism and highlight the city’s quality of life.
According to the Observatorio del Turismo in Barcelona, although only 2% of visitors travel exclusively for culture, almost 79% undertake some cultural activity during their stay. Museums and cultural centres mainly receive an international public, with visitors from the United States standing out, accounting for 17.8% of the total and with high average spending.