The cruise tax in Barcelona, Spain, could double if the mayor’s plan is approved
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One of Europe’s busiest tourist cities is facing problems with cruise lines and their passengers, as the city’s mayor is pushing to speed up tax increases for short-term passengers.
Barcelona Mayor Jaume Colboni on Wednesday said he wants cruise passengers to pay up to $9.30 (8 euros) per night, a 100% increase from the current $4.65 (4 euros).
The news was reported by El País, a Spanish newspaper, after Colboni appeared on Betevé, a local network.
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The tax will apply to cruise passengers arriving in Barcelona.
Barcelona City Council agreed last July to gradually increase the tax to $9.30 (8 euros), reports El País – and while the council has agreed to raise it over the next four years, Colboni is advocating for faster daily increases.
Cruise passengers making a short stopover in Barcelona could soon face much higher daily taxes under the mayor’s proposal. (Pau Barrena/AFP)
“In the coming months, we will increase the tourist tax … so that it will take effect in the next few months and not in four years as we agreed,” the mayor said, according to El País.
“I want to discourage the arrival of cruise passengers,” he said.
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Colboni said he hopes to reduce the number of passengers who stop in the city – rather than start or finish a trip in the city – to zero.
“Tourism must work for the city, not anything else,” he said.
Barcelona officials are moving ahead with plans to increase the tax on cruise passengers as part of a wider campaign to curb the influx of tourists to the city. (Stock)
“We want high-quality tourism, that’s why we are renewing the Fira de Barcelona. We are interested in business tourists,” said Colboni.
“What we don’t want is mass tourism – that’s why we’re going to end guest houses by 2028.”
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Colboni also said he plans to run for re-election, which will be held in May 2027, El País reported.
Barcelona Mayor Jaume Collboni, pictured, has said he plans to run for re-election in May 2027 while promoting policies aimed at reducing tourist traffic in the city. (Alberto Paredes/Europa Press via Getty Images)
“My goal is to rule with a majority on the left,” said Colboni.
“I want to turn Barcelona into a right-wing graveyard.”
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Fox News Digital has reached out to Colboni’s office for comment.
The move is one of several steps Barcelona has taken in its fight against over-tourism.
The proposed tax increase will double the daily number of cruise passengers stopping in Barcelona, according to the city’s leadership. (Stock)
By 2024, the Barcelona city council agreed to reduce cruise centers from seven to five in order to reduce the number of people arriving by boat.
In March, Barcelona nearly doubled its tourist tax, the highest in Europe to combat mass tourism.
An anti-tourism poster is seen during an exhibition in Barcelona a few years ago. The parade involved the symbolic closure of hotels, bars and restaurants as we headed towards Barceloneta, one of the areas most affected by tourism. (Photos by Paco Freire/SOPA/LightRocket via Getty Images)
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The city’s hotel guest tax has increased to between $10 and $17 per person per night, while vacation rental taxes have increased to about $14 per night.
