Barcelona to ‘substantially’ raise tourism tax for cruisegoers
The mayor of Barcelona told Spanish newspaper El Páis on Sunday (21 July) that he will raise tourist tax for cruise passengers who visit the city for less than 12 hours as part of an effort to curb mass tourism to the Catalan capital
Jaume Collboni, a member of the Catalan Socialist party, told the publication he would look to increase the £6-a-day tax that is currently paid by cruise passengers visiting Barcelona to ensure the city profits from the increased transient tourism that comes from large ocean cruise ships.
Collboni wasn’t drawn on how much he’d look to increase the tourist tax for cruise passengers, only that it would be a “substantial” amount.
In his interview with El Páis, Collboni said: “Barcelona is a city that’s open to visitors and tourism is an important sector of its economy,” Collboni told the newspaper. “That said, I’m determined to tackle the consequences that mass tourism is having for the city. [We’re going to] substantially raise the tax for people on cruise stopovers.
“When it comes to stopover cruise passengers – less than 12 hours – you get an intensive use of public space without any benefit to the city and you get a feeling of occupation and saturation. We want a tourism that respects its destination.”
Collboni added that his decision isn’t intended to deter cruise visitors but to ensure tourism revenue can be re-invested in local projects such as installing air conditioning in schools.
More than 1,100 cruise ship calls are scheduled into the port of Barcelona this year, with as many as five ships per day in summer peak periods.
The news comes as tens of thousands of anti-tourism protestors continue to take to the streets of cities to voice their concerns about the impact the travel industry is having on issues such as housing and pollution. Demonstrations have been mainly centred around key tourist hotspots, including Barcelona, Malaga and Palma de Mallorca.
Barcelona is the latest major tourism hub to challenge the cruise sector, with Amsterdam announcing earlier this month that it will relocate its cruise terminal away from the city centre by 2035 in a bid to combat “nuisance” and over-tourism.
More to follow
