94 Percent of International Trade Fairs Scheduled in Spain in 2026 Are Organised by AFE Members

Spain's Secretaria de Estado de Comercio has approved its 2026 Official Calendar of International Commercial Trade Fairs, published in the Boletin Oficial del Estado on 21 January. The calendar lists 97 internationally designated events, of which 91, representing 94 percent, are organised or hosted by AFE members across ten cities: Barcelona, Bilbao, Elche, Madrid, Malaga, Sevilla, Silleda, Valencia, Valladolid and Zaragoza. AFE president Xabier Basanez stated that the result confirms international exhibition activity in Spain is concentrated in the association's member organisations. Full international designation requires audited evidence that foreign direct exhibitors reach at least 10 percent of the total or foreign visitors at least 5 percent, with both indicators showing positive trends. Designated fairs allow exhibitors from outside the EU to import goods temporarily without customs duties and qualify for state-budget subsidies. A further 44 fairs hold the lesser customs-only designation in 2026, 43 of them from AFE members. AFE states that Spain's exhibition industry generates approximately 13,600 million euros of annual economic impact, contributes around 6,900 million euros to GDP and supports some 124,400 direct and indirect jobs.