Barcelona Mayor Jaume Collboni will propose doubling the tourist tax for stopover cruise passengers from €4 to €8 starting next year. The mayor of the Catalan capital announced this in an interview with Betevé, noting that while the increase was agreed with opposition groups, it was originally planned over four years.
Collboni stated his intention to “reduce cruise stopovers to zero” and called for “brave decisions” to achieve this. He also plans to propose removing the cap on the €8 figure, though he did not specify a new limit. Currently, stopover cruise tourists pay up to €14, which includes the €6 already applied by the Generalitat.
The mayor reiterated that tourism “must serve the city and not the other way around,” which means “setting limits and taking promotional measures.” He believes that achieving “quality tourism” requires actions such as “renewing Fira de Barcelona” to attract business tourism. Collboni stressed that “what puts the quality of life in the city at risk is tourist overcrowding,” and Barcelona is “making decisions like no one else” to address this.
He highlighted the measure to eliminate tourist flats, which will return “10,000 homes” to the market, equivalent to what the council would build in 10 years. Stopover cruise tourism is another concern because this type of tourist “consumes everything on the ship, but occupies space and uses public services, especially in Ciutat Vella and Eixample.” Accelerating the tourist tax increase is the mayor's strategy to “discourage” these stays and restore quality of life.
Using Tourist Tax Revenue
Collboni noted that the tourist tax has generated €100 million, which has contributed to initiatives such as the plan to air-condition the city's schools. This revenue helps fund improvements that benefit residents directly.
Housing Initiatives in Barcelona
Regarding housing, the mayor defended intervening in the market to cap rents. The average rent in Barcelona is currently €1,100 per flat, a figure Collboni admitted is very high. He argued that without the cap, it could be “€1,300 or €1,400.” He acknowledged that there is no “single solution or magical solution” to the housing crisis and supports “activating all options.” Among these is the construction of council-owned flats, with a thousand expected to be underway next year.
Another tool was the 30% protected housing reserve in new constructions, a key measure from Ada Colau's mandate that has not been fully implemented. Collboni had favoured modifying it, offering builders the option to accumulate this 30% in other developments, but his proposal did not succeed. However, the mayor, who will seek re-election, affirmed he would include it in his electoral programme.
