Valls, in the Camp de Tarragona region, has started 2026 with record tourist figures, already surpassing indicators from 2025. The previous year marked a turning point for the city's position as a tourist destination, according to Valls officials.
In the first three months of 2026 alone, the Department of Tourism managed the arrival of 54 coaches and 2,097 tourists. This pace is set to exceed the 79 coaches recorded throughout all of 2025.
February saw a record 30 coaches arrive, partly due to tour operators opening the Valls tourist market to French visitors. Actions by the Municipal Tourist Office, working with agencies and organised travel operators specialising in senior tourism, also proved successful. This positive trend strengthens the city's position in the organised tourism segment and points to a dynamic start to the year, boosted by an excellent calçotada season and the consolidated Casteller Museum of Catalonia.
Boosting Local Commerce
Many early 2026 visitors to Valls have booked combined packages. These include museum entry and tourist routes through the historic centre's main heritage sites and commercial areas. The City Council plans new strategies to increase the economic return of tourism across the city. Officials are working on new proposals and coordinating with the commercial and restaurant sectors to ensure the rise in visitors directly benefits local businesses.
The aim is to build a tourism model that generates economic activity, encourages local consumption, and promotes Valls' commerce. The City Council has informed shopkeepers about the presence of organised tourist groups during these months so they can adapt their commercial offerings. Work is also underway on new coordination efforts between tourism and commerce to create stable connections that can increase tourism's economic impact on the city's commercial fabric.
Strong Performance in 2025
The positive outlook for 2026 follows a strong 2025. Last year, the Tourist Office saw a 61.3% increase in activity, assisting 12,279 people who took part in tourist activities or received in-person information, visits, and programmed events.
Visitors primarily came from Barcelona and Central Catalonia, as well as the French market and various areas of Camp de Tarragona. There were also visitors from Valencia, Aragon, the Basque Country, Madrid, Andalusia, the United Kingdom, Germany, the Netherlands, and Belgium, showing a mix of local and international tourism.
Among guided tours, which attracted 3,756 tourists, the most popular was 'The Heart of the City'. This route covers emblematic sites in the historic centre, such as Sant Joan Church, the old Sant Roc Hospital, Plaça del Blat, and the Roser Chapel. Other popular routes included 'Discover Valls', 'Catalonia's Tallest Bell Tower', and 'Hidden Underground Spaces', featuring the Gothic hall beneath Ca Sagarra and the Air-Raid Shelter in Plaça del Blat.
The launch of the new website, visitavalls.cat, in March 2025, with its modern design, intuitive navigation, and updated content, marked a step forward in the city's tourism promotion. The new portal helped provide information to tourists visiting Valls, offering details on services, routes, and attractions. Agreements were also made with online ticket agencies to sell combined visits to the city and the Casteller Museum.
The Casteller Museum's Growing Reach
Món Casteller · Museu Casteller de Catalunya continued to grow in its second year of operation. In 2025, 26,218 people visited the museum. Of these, 18,927 bought tickets for the exhibitions, a 1.5% increase from 2024.
The origin of visitors shows strong local ties but also the museum's international reach in promoting casteller culture. Almost three out of ten museum visitors are not Catalan. The museum is building a significant international presence, with 21.3% of visitors from abroad. France accounts for 8.3%, Germany 3.5%, and Italy 2.6%. Visitors from other parts of Spain make up 7.3%.
Catalan visitors represent 71.4% of the audience, mainly from nearby areas like Tarragona (41.4%) and Barcelona (23.9%), with Girona (2.9%) and Lleida (1.7%) also contributing. A positive indicator from 2025 is the growth in school visitors. The Casteller Museum welcomed 2,500 students from 114 educational centres across Catalonia, a 44% increase from the previous year. This growth supports the museum's role as an educational resource for casteller culture and a space for cultural transmission.
Casteller enthusiasts also form a specific audience. In 2025, 685 people from 35 colles (human tower teams) visited the museum, all with prior reservations through an agreement with the Coordinadora de Colles Castelleres de Catalunya.
Beyond ticketed visitors, nearly 7,300 more people attended activities hosted by the museum, making it an open space for civic activity and the promotion of casteller culture. Events organised by the museum or other groups included casteller performances, talks, conferences, family workshops, book launches, corporate events, professional colleges, universities, educational centres, and live radio programmes broadcast from the museum. The City Council will continue to work on strategies to maintain this growth and ensure tourism benefits the entire community.
