Barcelona City Council has given initial approval to increase the tourist tax for cruise passengers spending less than 12 hours in the city, from the current €5 to the maximum €24 permitted by Catalan law.
The hike will be progressively implemented through 2030. The hostel surcharge will be frozen at €4, as confirmed during plenary sessions.
Progressive Rollout and Hostel Surcharge
Deputy Mayor for Economy Jordi Valls defended freezing the hostel surcharge as it is “different from that of other tourist establishments.” He advocated for a “progressive, four-year rollout of the increase in tourist taxes to provide clarity and certainty regarding the city council’s fiscal
decisions.”
Valls stated that Barcelona “has reached the limit of its tourism capacity,” necessitating the tourism sector to “take greater responsibility for municipal finances.”
Regional Comparison and Rejected Tax Proposal
The tax hike for cruise passengers amounts to “the most significant tax increase for cruise ships in the entire Mediterranean, surpassing those in Amsterdam, Santorini, or other ports.”
The council rejected a proposal to raise the differentiated property tax (IBI) for leisure and hospitality establishments with the highest cadastral values.
