From October, tourists in Barcelona could have to pay some extra money for their stay, as the city council voted to increase the tourist tax for the second time this year.
Be reminded of that Barcelona has two tourist taxes: the Catalan regional tax and the city tax.
The city tax is set to increase from €3.25 to €4.00 per night—the legally permitted maximum — for a maximum of 7 nights. This means that if you stay longer, you no longer have to pay municipal tax.
On the other hand, the regional tax is accommodation dependent.
According to the latest update from April, you will have to pay if you choose Airbnb type accommodation “€2.75 per night; €1.70 for four-star hotels and €3.50 for five-star hotels.” Cruise passengers with a stopover in Barcelona of less than 12 hours must pay €3 or just €2 if you stay overnight.
The news comes just after Mayor Jaume Collboni announced that his government will not renew the permits of all tourist apartments (10,101) by November 2028.
International media have reported that the city appears to be curbing mass tourism with the new tax increase. But that’s quite a simplistic analysis.
The truth is that Barcelona has an annual deficit of almost 50 million euros in terms of expenditure caused by tourism. So that money has to come from somewhere.
From today, the city “Collects 95 million euros in tourist tax, but the direct expenditure caused by tourism in the areas of cleaning, security or transport amounts to 142 million euros, which represents a deficit of 50 million euros,” Republican Councilor Elisenda Alamany revealed in June.
With the new compensation, the government predicts that tax collections could increase from 75 million euros to 120 million euros.
Advocates are also trying to get the government to abolish the €4 per person per night limit so the city can charge tourists even more.
The proposal to amend the tax regulation regulating the surcharge has been provisionally approved. It will have to receive final approval in the September plenary session.
If all goes as planned, You must pay the surcharge from October 1. Otherwise, the tax will apply in April 2025.
Local organizations against mass tourism in Barcelona
This may not be the best time to increase the tourist tax as the city is embroiled in international controversy, with a group of anti-tourism protesters firing water pistols at visitors while weekly chants of “Tourists go home” and “Barcelona is not Disneyland ‘. past.
According to the leaders of 140 local organizations and some official data, the cost of housing has increased by 68 percent since 2014.
Digital nomads are also playing a role in the housing crisis, as previously reported by TravelingLifestyle.
