The Office for Citizen Participation launched a public consultation in January to evaluate the location and duration of the Christmas market in order to gather the opinions and suggestions of citizens for the organisation of the next edition.
A total of 421 people responded to the survey, 416 via the official survey and 5 by email. The results of the survey show that the majority of citizens prefer the Christmas fair to return to the old town, and as for its duration, a very long duration of the event is perceived as less attractive, although there is a balance in preferences for one or two weekends.
The citizens were asked about the suitability of the Plaza Mayor as a venue and the possibility of a return to the old town. A total of 329 participants voted in favour of the fair returning to the old town, 61 voted for the Plaza Mayor and 26 were indifferent.
Although the respondents to the survey gave a positive assessment of the accessibility and convenience of the Plaza Mayor, the majority were of the opinion that this location detracts from the Christmas atmosphere and lacks historical charm. The Plaza Mayor was largely viewed negatively as a location for this event.
As for the duration of the fair, which last year was held over all the weekends in December instead of just the long weekend at the beginning of the month, the respondents were negative about the extension. 223 of the respondents believe that the extension of the duration of the event makes it less special, 181 of the respondents believe that it leads to low visitor numbers and detracts from the atmosphere, and 150 of the respondents believe that it causes fatigue among the local population.
However, when asked about their preferred duration, the format of two consecutive weekends was the most frequently mentioned with 150 votes, while the format of a single weekend (first weekend in December) received 147 votes.
Participants also made recommendations on how to improve future editions of the Fira de Nadal. Among the main proposals are increasing the Christmas atmosphere, returning the fair to the old town, adding more activities for children, promoting the presence of shops selling Christmas items and reducing the number of food stalls.