The brake on school trips threatens the cultural and leisure sector

BarcelonaCulture, educational leisure and transport face the start of the 2026-27 academic year with uncertainty. The reason is the stoppage of activities outside the classroom, which threatens an impact that goes well beyond schools. Still without concrete data on the extent of the effects, families, companies, associations, entities and experts warn of the educational, economic and social consequences of the temporary pressure measures by education professionals, who are demanding labor improvements.While negotiations with the Department of Education are not bearing fruit due to the unions' standoff, which, despite the agreement signed at the end of the school year, continue their standoff with the Government, the cultural sector is already starting to put numbers to the impact of the stoppage on school activities. In the world of performing arts, Óscar Rodríguez, a board member of ADETCA, the association of private Catalan theaters, explains that, on average, private theaters are recording 50% fewer school bookings compared to last year. In Barcelona, however, the drop is even more pronounced: "The figures are falling between 85 and 90% compared to last year in theaters like the Tantarantana or the Autèntica".ADETCA respects the demands of education professionals and ensures that it agrees with them, but warns that the situation "is directly harming a key sector for the culture of children and young people." It is not just a question of numbers and bookings, but also, Rodríguez remarks, "the undoing of an authentic tool for training and transformation."

Joan Alfred Mengual, president of the TTP, the association specialized in children's and family theater, is more incisive: "It could be a final blow to the sector from which it would be very difficult to recover," he says, and recalls the precedent of the pandemic. Both Rodríguez and Mengual hope that the next meeting with the Department of Culture will serve to find solutions to the situation, but they make it clear that their intention is to "ask for a rescue that can save the sector".Mengual claims that access to theater must be democratic, and that it is precisely the school that often plays this role, the result of a "balance of many years of effort": "Many children only come to the theater during their school years and never step into a hall again." In line with the ADETCA board member, he makes it clear that the teachers' demands "are fair," but calls on the Government to do "what it has to do" so that the situation is normalized.Another area that will be affected by the stoppage is museums. Culture does not yet have data on the matter, but it does anticipate a strong impact on small and municipal museums. And they have announced that the Government is holding meetings with the sector in a process of active listening with the aim of addressing possible impacts. For its part, the Barcelona History Museum, which brings together 17 spaces throughout the city, has detected that during this first quarter, compared to last year, the number of school groups that have booked any of its activities has been reduced by half.One of the star cultural activities of the formative stage that is also being affected is Cantània, the participatory musical and educational proposal aimed at primary school students. L’Auditori, the organizer of the activity, records a 42% drop in the number of children enrolled in Barcelona, a fact that translates into 15 fewer concerts compared to the 38 in 2025. In the rest of the territory, Cantània goes from 73 to 50 concerts. La Clika, a project shared between Culture, the four provincial councils, and other public entities, also notes the decline: from 781 schools in 2025 to 577 this academic year.

Leisure, to the limit

The other major sector affected by the suspension of activities is leisure. Acellec, the Catalan leisure business association, anticipates an 80% drop in bookings for summer camps and activities linked to the school curriculum. Pep Montes, manager of the entity, remarks that the remaining 20% "is provided thanks to charter schools." Faced with the situation of uncertainty, he explains that the Government "is articulating subsidized loans through the ICF and non-refundable grants for companies affected by the educational crisis," which can be requested, however, starting from January 2027 to cover the activity of the last quarter of 2026. Neither the budget nor the amount allocated to the grants is specified.Fundesplai reports a 68% reduction in school camp bookings for this autumn, pending an analysis of the impact on single-day educational trips. The most significant decline is expected for the spring of 2027: from 18,000 stays in the 25-26 academic year to 4,800 currently booked. Asun Gil, Director of Environmental Sustainability at Fundesplai, explains that the organization "understands and respects the teachers' demands," but asks that camps not be lost "as part of the educational tradition and as an equitable opportunity, which prevents them from becoming a luxury item." Gil calls for "urgent regulation of the camps that protects them, gives them value, and provides guarantees to the workers."The Pere Tarrés Foundation negotiates daily with the centers. Albert Riu, director of the holiday camp service at Pere Tarrés, acknowledges that the situation is “very distressing”. At this moment, they have confirmed 35% of cancellations in reservations, which will lead to less hiring of staff and monitors this autumn, without ruling out more drastic measures later on.Riu explains that they are encountering some AFAs (Families' Associations) that are asking to self-manage school camps, but makes it clear that one must start from the fact that “school camps, as a complement to the educational action of the classroom, must be carried out by the school, working on the relationship between classmates and the teacher-student relationship”.Knowledge of the environment and sport also suffer a setback with the elimination within the General Annual Programming (PGA) of the centers of educational activities related to the Educational Environment Plan (PEE), an initiative of cooperation between the Department of Education and Vocational Training and the municipalities to provide an integrated and community response to the educational needs of children and young people. And also the equitable access for all students to winter sports (White Sport) and nautical sports (Blue Sport). Or the school swimming program that many Catalan municipalities subsidize for students of the Initial Cycle on a mandatory basis within the Physical Education area.

Most of the aforementioned activities that take place outside the classroom involve road transport provided by local bus companies. FECAV, the Catalan bus employers' association, does not yet have global data on the effects that the educational stoppage may have, but shows "concern about the instability and uncertainty" suffered by the operating companies.Àlex Gilabert, managing director of Teisa, one of the most important road transport companies, foresees an impact of 5-10% on its revenue and speaks of a "very bad" future outlook. "There will be no agreement between teachers and the Department of Education until March," he explains, and makes it clear that over the last few months he has maintained contact with the Departments of Business and Labor, Economy, and Education.Gilabert regrets that "we have been told that we do not count on financial aid", since the Economy department, in order of priority, prioritizes summer camps, followed by companies that offer services to those same summer camps. At this moment, "80% of public schools have not confirmed their schedule for field trips and camps". And he warns: "If the situation is resolved by the month of April, we may no longer be available". He anticipates that Teisa, while it is not working for public schools, will bet on other mobility options such as off-season tourism. He acknowledges that Miquel Sàmper, Minister of Business and Labour, "listens and collects the complaints", but adds that they must "get a move on". It only remains to trust that schools individually, as he explains, will gradually change their position, even though the majority "maintains the general instruction" of the strike.“A school without external activity is not a school”

Beyond the economic losses and job losses in the various sectors, those truly affected are the children, adolescents, students, and users of the public school system, who will not be leaving the center this school year. The labor struggle of the professionals pursues a dignified and quality public education, but there are doubts about the methods. Esther Giménez-Salinas, the Ombudsman of Catalonia, made it clear at the beginning of the school year that some of the labor protest measures carried out last year, such as the cancellation of school camps, field trips, or the elimination of personalized comments on report cards, “could have violated the rights of the students and their families”.Maria Truñó, director of Aliança Educació 360 and who has a long track record in the defense of children's rights, stresses that summer camps and educational outings "are neither an extra nor an addition, but a very important basis of the educational model linked to the environment, nature and culture" that has been built "over many decades". It responds, she says, to a "centuries-old pedagogical tradition in Catalonia" which "is now being put at risk, and it remains to be seen when and how it will be recovered". Truñó warns that "it is very contradictory to demand quality public education with a pressure measure that causes a real impoverishment of the educational opportunities for nearly half of the students in the public system", and she points out that one in three children in Catalonia is in a situation of poverty or social exclusion.Furthermore, it warns that “the administration is the one that must ensure that school camps and field trips are an essential part of learning throughout school life,” and avoid leaving it in the hands “neither of the goodwill of the teachers nor the pockets of the families.”Jaume Funes, psychologist and educator, is categorical: “A school without external activity is not a school”. It is in these and other spaces where one connects with the environment and where competencies such as habits, coexistence, and the creation of a sense of belonging to the group are developed, “vital learnings for both childhood and adolescence, which public schools must guarantee”. Funes reflects that there is a confrontation of rights taking place, between the right to strike and pressure measures by the teaching staff and the children's right to education as we have understood it until now. “Children's rights are superior to adult rights because they are the most vulnerable, and this is not up for discussion”. And he adds: “A dignified and responsible teacher must watch over the rights of children”.

Bewildered families 

The labor conflict is beginning to move to the school gates. In the absence of an agreement between Education and the unions, the proposal to stop field trips and camps has brought tensions to the surface between staff and families, some of whom had until now supported the teachers' demands. What is now at stake, however, directly affects the educational activity of their children.The Federated Associations of Families of Students of Catalonia (aFFaC) have already expressed their concern regarding the manifesto and have demanded that the ministry guarantee, at the same time, dignified conditions for professionals and that the centers can develop their educational projects normally. The entity also rejects that the conflict is presented as "a confrontation between teachers and families".The driving group defends the strike

The organizers of the strike, however, argue that the decision is "not a resignation" from the pedagogical value of the activities, but rather a "legitimate pressure measure" in the face of a situation they consider unsustainable. The same manifesto promoting the strike acknowledges that the protest will have consequences beyond the classrooms and will affect sectors such as transport, accommodation, and cultural and leisure activities.Laura Gómez, a member of the organizing group behind the strike, argues that “it is much more important for children to be in class on a day-to-day basis than for them to have the experience of summer camps or field trips.” The plan is to maintain the measure throughout the school year, but the group is open to extending it “until the objectives are achieved.” The manifesto of the driving group demands changes in the civil and criminal liability of teaching staff, compensation for school camps and recognition of hours outside school hours, as well as moving towards 6% of GDP in Education and reducing ratios. Four of these demands are already included in the progressive agreement signed with the unions.