Barcelona to raise tourist tax for stopover cruise passengers
Spain’s second city has already promised to stamp out Airbnbs before the end of the decade, but insists it still welcomes tourists
Barcelona’s mayor, Jaume Collboni, is planning to increase the tourist tax for cruise passengers who spend less than 12 hours in the city. This measure is part of his broader strategy to address the negative impacts of mass tourism on the Catalan capital.
Since taking office last year, Collboni has introduced various measures aimed at reducing overtourism and improving the housing situation in Barcelona.
One of his major initiatives, announced four weeks ago, is to end short-term apartment rentals to tourists by 2028 by cancelling the licences of the 10,101 Airbnbs and other tourist let apartments in the city.
This decision comes amid widespread protests across Spain against the detrimental effects of the booming tourism industry on residents’ daily lives.
Barcelona is one of the top holiday destinations for a city break in Spain, with visitors choosing it for its cosmopolitan vibe, city beach and famous monuments like the Sagrada Familia and Parc Güell.
In a recent interview with Spanish newspaper El País, Mayor Collboni revealed his intention to raise the tourist tax for cruise passengers, which currently stands at 7 euros per person per day. He stressed that the goal is to ensure the city benefits adequately from the influx of short-term visitors.
“Barcelona is a city that’s open to visitors and tourism is an important sector of its economy,” Collboni told the newspaper. “That said, I’m determined to tackle the consequences that mass tourism is having for the city. That means going all the way with the ban on tourist flats in 2028. But we’re also going to substantially raise the tax for people on cruise stopovers.”
Collboni highlighted that short-term tourist flat rentals and brief cruise stopovers are problematic for the city as they contribute to the overuse of public spaces without providing significant benefits to Barcelona, creating a sense of occupation and saturation.
“When it comes to a choice between tourists using housing and the right to housing, we’ve decided to put the right to housing in Barcelona first,” Collboni said. “When it comes to stopover cruise passengers – less than 12 hours – you get an intensive use of public space without any benefit to the city and you get a feeling of occupation and saturation. We want a tourism that respects its destination.”
Although the exact increase in the tax has not been specified, studies have already been commissioned. Collboni emphasised that the aim is not to deter cruise visitors but to ensure they contribute fairly to the city’s economy.
The additional revenue generated from the tax hike could be invested in community projects, such as installing air conditioning in schools, he said.
He further reassured that the ban on tourist flats would not discourage visitors, as Barcelona and its surrounding areas have sufficient hotel capacity to continue accommodating visitors.
Last year, Spain welcomed a record 85.1 million international tourists, a 19% increase from 2022, despite its population of 47 million people.
The unchecked growth of tourism has sparked significant anger and frustration among locals in some parts of Spain, leading to numerous protests, especially in the Balearic Islands and the Canary Islands.
Protesters are particularly concerned about the substantial impact tourism has had on the housing market and the overall quality of life for local people in recent years, and the race is on to find a model of sustainable tourism that benefits both the all-important tourist sector and Spain’s local communities.
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