According to the most recent information, Barcelona’s mayor, Jaume Collboni, intends to raise the tourist fee for cruise guests who spend less than twelve hours in the city. This is a component of his continuous work to mitigate the effects of mass tourism in the capital of Catalonia. Since entering office last year, Collboni, a member of the Catalan Socialist Party, has proposed a number of measures intended to improve the city’s housing situation and lessen over-tourism.
Barcelona to Raise Cruise Tourist Fee: 10 Key Points To Know
- Tourist Fee Increase: Barcelona’s mayor, Jaume Collboni, plans to raise the tourist fee for cruise guests who spend less than twelve hours in the city.
- Mitigating Mass Tourism: The fee increase is part of efforts to mitigate the effects of mass tourism in Barcelona.
- Short-Term Rental Ban: Collboni aims to revoke permits for 10,101 short-term rental flats by 2028 to curb tourist apartment rentals.
- Impact of Mass Tourism: The measures come in response to demonstrations against the negative effects of tourism on daily life in Spain.
- Current Fee: The current daily fee for cruise passengers is €7 (£6), which is set to increase to ensure the city benefits more from short visits.
- Priority on Housing: Collboni emphasizes that housing rights for residents take precedence over tourist accommodations.
- Study on Fee Increase: Studies are being conducted to determine the new fee amount, focusing on ensuring fair contributions from cruise visitors.
- Visitor Accommodation: Despite the tourist apartment ban, Collboni assures there are enough hotels in the city and surrounding areas to accommodate visitors.
- Tourism Surge in Spain: Spain saw a record 85.1 million foreign visitors last year, a 19% increase from 2022.
- Protests Against Tourism: Groups like Canarias se Agota and Prou Eivissa highlight the strain of increased tourism on public services and resources, leading to planned demonstrations like the one in Palma, Mallorca.
Collboni recently revealed plans to revoke the permits of the 10,101 short-term rental flats that are now permitted in order to stop renting out apartments to tourists by 2028. This action comes after massive demonstrations against the detrimental impacts of the burgeoning tourism sector on everyday life in Spain.
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In order to guarantee that the city gains more from the short visits of cruise passengers, Collboni also declared his plan to increase the present €7 (£6) daily fee.
Barcelona is a city open to visitors, and tourism is an important sector of its economy,” he said. “I’m resolved to address the effects of mass tourism, however. This entails enforcing the 2028 prohibition on tourist apartments and imposing a hefty charge on brief ship stopovers.
Collboni
Collboni clarified that short-term ship trips and tourist flat rentals were causing issues in the city, impacting housing availability as well as public space utilization. He underlined that the city gives housing rights a higher priority than lodging for visitors.
When passengers on stopover cruises remain for less than a day, they tend to feel occupied and saturated due to the heavy usage of public space that does not serve the city. We want travel that honors the place it visits.
Collboni
Collboni said that studies were being conducted, but he did not say by how much the tax would rise. The intention is not to discourage cruise guests; rather, it is to make sure they make a fair contribution and raise money for community initiatives like air conditioning installation in schools. He gave guests comfort by saying that the city and its environs had enough hotels to accommodate major events, despite the prohibition on tourist apartments.
With a population of 47 million, Spain hosted a record 85.1 million foreign visitors last year, up 19% from 2022. Numerous demonstrations have been triggered by the unrestrained rise of tourism in the Canaries, the Balearic Islands, and the mainland. The main concern of protesters is how tourism would negatively impact the local property market and standard of living.
Organizations such as Canarias se Agota (The Canaries Have Had Enough) and Prou Eivissa (Enough Ibiza) have drawn attention to the burden that increased tourism is placing on public services and resources. Under the banner “Let’s change path, let’s put limits on tourism,” the Menys Turisme, Més Vida (Less Tourism, More Life) platform is planning another significant demonstration for Palma, Mallorca.
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