Barcelona to Increase Tourist Tax for Cruise Passengers

Barcelona will raise the tourist tax for cruise passengers who visit the city for at least 12 hours, Mayor Jaume Collboni stated in an interview with El Pais. Currently, the tax for cruise travelers stopping in the city is €7 per day. However, he did not specify how much the tax will be increased.

Collboni noted that tourists arriving by cruise ship and staying in the city for at least 12 hours actively utilize public spaces without providing any benefit to the city. According to Collboni, this proposal must be coordinated with the regional government of Catalonia.

In recent weeks, activists against tourism have held protests in well-known Spanish resort cities such as Palma de Mallorca, Malaga, and the Canary Islands, stating that visitors are driving up housing prices, which prevents local residents from living in the city center.