Barcelona
is intensifying its efforts in the ongoing battle against overtourism,
and this time it’s taking aim at short-stay cruise passengers.
The city’s mayor,
Jaume Collboni, is pushing to quickly double Barcelona’s tourist tax on cruise
travelers who make short stops in the popular Spanish destination. His proposal
would immediately increase the tax for passengers docking overnight by 100 percent,
taking it from €4 ($4.65) to €8 ($9.30) per night.
While Barcelona’s
City Council had approved plans in July 2025 for gradually raising the tax over
the next four years, the mayor now wants to fast-track that increase.
"In the
coming months, we will raise the tourist tax … so that it comes into
force in the next few months and not in four years as we had agreed," Collboni
said, according to Fox
News.
"I want to
discourage the arrival of cruise passengers," he added, saying that he
eventually wants to eliminate the presence of stopover cruise passengers (as
opposed to those that begin or end their cruises in Barcelona) altogether.
Barcelona is
currently one of the most prominent examples of overtourism among European
destinations, and locals have become increasingly vocal in recent years about
opposing its negative impacts, from basic overcrowding to rising housing costs.
"Tourism must
serve the city, not the other way around," Collboni said.
“What we do not
want is mass tourism — and that is why we will eliminate tourist apartments in
2028,” he explained.
"We want
quality tourism,” he added, also noting, “We are interested in business
visitors.”
The city has
already rolled out several measures aimed at reducing the pressures of overtourism.
In 2024, Barcelona’s
city council members approved plans to scale back the city’s cruise
infrastructure by cutting
the number of terminals from seven to five, with the goal of limiting
passenger volumes.
In April 2026, the
city also increased
its general tourist tax, making it now one of the most expensive in Europe.
Hotel guests are now paying between roughly $10 and $17 per night in taxes,
while vacation rental visitors pay around $14 per night.
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