Barcelona Mayor Aims for Zero Stopover Cruises

Barcelona Mayor Jaume Collboni reiterated his goal to "reduce stopover cruises in the city to zero" during a municipal convention of the PSC's Barcelona federation on Saturday.

To achieve this, the mayor plans to implement two measures. Firstly, he intends to raise the tourist tax for stopover cruise passengers from €5 to €8 this year, rather than over the previously scheduled four years. Secondly, in coordination with the Generalitat, he aims to remove the €8 limit to further increase taxation on these types of cruises.

Collboni stated that this increase would help fund the services used by these cruise passengers in the city. He also believes it would "economically discourage a type of stay that generates no income for Barcelona but has a significant impact."

Addressing Tourist Overcrowding

Barcelona recorded 3,999,258 cruise passengers in 2025, with 1.7 million being stopover passengers. According to the mayor, this type of tourism leads to "tourist overcrowding and does not generate spending in the city, but it does make intensive use of public space and public services, especially in the centre."

He added that "overcrowding puts the quality of life in the city at risk." Collboni insisted that tourism should serve the city, not the other way around. He advocates for setting limits on this activity and promoting quality tourism.

Promoting Congress Tourism

In line with this, the mayor referenced the renovation of Fira de Barcelona, including the reform of the Montjuïc venue and the expansion of the Gran Via venue. This initiative aims to promote "congress tourism, which is a type of visitor that brings added value and connects with the city's knowledge economy."

Collboni also defended the tourist tax and the municipal surcharge applied by Barcelona City Council. These funds have so far allowed for the climate control of 60 schools, as well as promoting public housing and services in neighbourhoods. "We must defend the right to stay in the city. We do not want to go backwards, but we want a cohesive city," he told his party colleagues.