Barcelona to hike tourist tax for day-cruise passengers, says mayor
Barcelona’s mayor wants to increase the tax on day cruise visitors as part of the city’s push to combat overtourism.
Jaume Collboni told Spanish national newspaper El Pais on Sunday (21 July) he plans to raise the fee levied on cruise guests spending less than 12 hours in the city, which currently stands at €7 (£6), to make sure of an economic return on cruise visitation for locals.
"There is intensive use of public space without any benefit for the city and a feeling of occupation and saturation,” Collboni told the paper. “We want to have tourism that is respectful to the destination.”
Long read: ’Overtourism in Barcelona didn’t happen overnight’
It follows a wave of anti-tourism protests in Spain, which has been felt in Barcelona, as well as in the the Canary Islands and in the the Balearic Islands.
Earlier this month, thousands of Barcelona residents marched through the city squirting holidaymakers with water pistols while brandishing placards with slogans such as “Tourists out” and “Barcelona is not Disneyland”.
Locals says they have been beset by housing shortages and sky-high rents with more and more properties being turned over to tourism accommodation and short-term lets, such as Airbnbs.
As part of his ongoing fight against a tourism model that is no longer sustainable, Collboni has pledged to revoke more than 10,000 licences for tourist flats currently active for the period through to November 2028, effectively banning Airbnb.
Other measures include banning cruise ships from calling at the Muelle Barcelona Norte and World Trade Centre docks, a mile away from the city centre.
"I would like Barcelona to be an example of a city that has managed to attract tourists and that this tourism does not go against the rights of the city, the idea that Barcelona is for the people of Barcelona,” Collboni continued.
“We have scheduled visits from cities all over Europe and the rest of Spain, who come to see that it is possible to do so.”
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