Barcelona City Council has approved the allocation of approximately €13.7 million from the tourist tax to municipal tourism projects, according to agreements from the government commission on 30 April. These funds are intended to help economic reactivation, promotion, and tourism management in the Catalan capital.
Tourists and visitors staying in Barcelona accommodations, such as hotels, pay two types of charges. One is the Tourist Stay Tax, collected by the Generalitat, with 50% ceded to the City Council. The other is a municipal surcharge, which will increase by one euro per person per night annually until 2029, rising from four to eight euros, a proposal from ERC.
The approved text specifies that the €13,758,742.44 is for "municipal projects, in tourism matters, to be financed from the Tourist Stay Tax." Examples of planned expenses include €2,317,500 for Christmas lighting, €1,500,000 for promoting local commerce, and €1,300,000 for the capital status of proximity commerce.
Funding Local Initiatives
Last December, Tot Barcelona reported that by October 2025, Jaume Collboni's executive had allocated around €42 million to tourism promotion and events. Of this, approximately €25 million went to promotional campaigns and activities for the city, while €17 million supported international events. However, Elisenda Alamany, ERC president in the City Council, previously stated that funds from the municipal tourist tax surcharge should not be used for tourism promotion. Instead, she argued, they should be invested in reducing tourism's impact on affected neighbourhoods.
This means the current €13.7 million comes from the portion of the tourist tax collected by the Generalitat and transferred to the City Council. Data provided by the Barcelona City Council to Tot Barcelona shows that the tourist tax and municipal surcharge generated over €315 million for municipal coffers by 2024.
Tax Revenue and Future Plans
The municipal surcharge, introduced by ERC, has been collected since 2021 and brought in €180.7 million for Barcelona by 2024. The Tourist Stay Tax, collected by the Generalitat, contributed over €134.6 million to the City Council since 2014.
Further allocations from the tax revenue will go towards managing High-Traffic Areas (EGAs) like the Sagrada Família and Park Güell, with various specific budgets. The Eixample neighbourhoods will receive €200,000, and civic agents will get €1,522,129.32 to improve the tourist experience in these busy spaces, according to the government commission's text.
Approved expenses also include nearly €155,000 for visits to the former Model prison, now a memory centre, and about €25,000 for the tourist use of the Gabriel García Márquez library. Christmas tourism promotion campaigns will receive €850,000. The City Council's "strategic spaces" for economic promotion, Beat Barcelona and Talent Arena 2026, are allocated €663,135, and congress promotion will receive €700,000.
Among the allocations, a notable one is €50,000 for the celebration of "Geek Pride." Other included items are the digitisation and computerisation of the Arús Public Library's catalogue for €50,000, the management and improvement of the Turó de la Rovira anti-aircraft batteries space for €78,500, and a promotional campaign for the 2026 Biennial of Thought for €250,000.
