Barcelona Plans To Increase Tourist Tax Over Next Two Years In Blow To Holidaymakers
Spain News
Published: 06 January 2023 15:14 CET
Barcelona city council is set to increase its municipal tourist tax over the next two years in a blow to tourists visiting the region.
The council said that the aim was to use the tax to bring in an extra 52 million euros in 2023 and a further 100 million in 2024. In 2022, income from the tax was 33 million euros.
Currently, the municipal tax is split with a fixed surcharge of €1.75 which goes to the city council, and a further payment depending on the accommodation type which goes to the regional government.
For example, at the moment, a tourist staying in a five-star hotel will pay €5.25 per night to stay in the city. However, by 2024, this will rise to €6.75 with the surcharge increased from €1.75 to €2.75 in 2023 and then to €3.25 from April 1, 2024.
A guest staying in a five-star hotel will therefore pay an extra €47.25 for a seven-night break.
Those staying in regulated apartments will also have to pay more from 2023. Currently, guests pay €4.00 per night to stay in an apartment, €2.25 per night to the regional government, and €1.75 to the city council.
With the change, this will rise to around €5 per night from 2023.
Cruise ship passengers staying in the region for more than 12 hours will also have to pay more. Visitors currently pay €3 to the region and €1.75 to the city, however, this will increase to a total of €6.25 per night by 2024.
The council said they planned to use the increase in revenue to pay for road improvements, new escalators, elevators, and more buses.
Local residents have complained about the increase in tourism and the impact it is having on the city.
The city council has previously announced plans to tax cruise ship passengers due to the pollution caused to the port which was claimed to be the most polluted in Europe in 2019.
Deputy mayor Jaume Collboni said: “The economic data for tourism in 2019 is already increasing, not in the number of tourists, but in the amount of income from tourism in Barcelona.
“It was the objective sought: to contain the number of tourists and increase tourist income because our model is no longer mass tourism but quality tourism, which adds value to the city.”
City mayor Ada Colau added, “In 2024, our forecast is that with the municipal section of the tax - another part is received by the Generalitat - the city can enter €100m per year in the municipal budget as a result of tourist activity.”
Source
https://www.independent.co.uk/travel/news-and-advice/barcelona-increasing-tourist-tax-hotels-b2257174.html
https://www.express.co.uk/travel/articles/1717343/spain-barcelona-tourist-tax-warning
