The CTN Take: Barcelona cruise tax hike isn’t all bad news
Barcelona’s decision to increase its tourist tax on cruise passengers visiting for less than 12 hours isn’t as detrimental as it may seem, says Cruise Trade News deputy editor Will Payne
Finding out a destination is clamping down on cruise tourism is like finding out your holiday request for four consecutive weeks off work has been denied. Disappointing, but not surprising.
Last month, Barcelona became the latest major cruise destination to crack down on overtourism, with mayor Jaume Collboni saying he planned to increase the tax on short-stay cruise visitors, which currently sits at £6 a day.
Although he admitted to newspaper El Páis that tourism is an important part of the destination’s economy, he said the answer to tackling mass visitation is by targeting cruise guests. A feeling which, unfortunately, is shared by Venice, Amsterdam and several other key tourism hubs.
“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,” he explained.
A CLIA spokesperson said the trade body “noted with concern” the mayor’s comments, given tax on cruise visitors has more than tripled in the last few years.
Quoting research from Barcelona University, CLIA estimated that cruise visitors account for more than 13 per cent of the tourism tax revenues collected by Barcelona’s City Hall, while only 4 per cent of visitors to the city arrive by the water, which makes the new tax hike an unfair addition given the sector’s current contribution to the city.
It’s unlikely the increase – which hasn’t been disclosed – will have an impact on demand for itineraries stopping in Barcelona, but another major city claiming that ships are the main driver of over tourism is a concern and a possible stain on the industry’s image.
Earlier this year Amsterdam announced plans to move its cruise terminal out of the city centre by 2035, while Liverpool City Council (LCC) is actively looking to transfer the ownership of its hub, which it deemed “unsustainable”, to a private company.
Cruise is a part of the solution – not the problem
However, there’s always a silver lining. You have the quick wins – all publicity is good publicity, there’s no such thing as too many passengers and demand for holidays-at-sea has never been higher (evidenced by recent “over” tourism).
And in the long-term, the money collected by local governments from tax hikes can be used to enhance the local area for visitors, making it even more attractive to tourists.
On the other hand, extra charges combined with ongoing tourism protests in Barcelona, Tenerife, Malaga and Mallorca, could make consumers rethink a Spanish sailing and opt for a different itinerary, potentially at a higher price or with a different cruise line.
These calls will of course embolden the industry’s harshest critics who lay the blame for mass tourism at the sector’s door. Yet I believe cruise can be part of the solution, not the problem.
The industry is critical to the survival of port destinations, as demonstrated by CLIA’s statistics on regional economies supported by cruise; not to mention the number of jobs created by the industry.
The key to cruise positively impacting cities like Barcelona comes down to how the money collected from the extra tax is used. If it goes back into the city and ports, that will, in the long term, benefit the lines and their passengers, proving why cruise is a force for a good.
Will Payne is deputy editor of Cruise Trade News and World of Cruising
