Barcelona’s mayor, Jaume Collboni, has urged greater municipal control to tackle the proliferation of 24-hour supermarkets, which he links directly to the city’s booming tourist trade. Speaking on Rac1, Collboni argued that these establishments are sustained mainly by visitors, particularly those staying in short-term rentals, and warned against fostering a model of ‘massified tourism’.
He suggested that the city should instead focus on attracting professional and cultural visitors, insisting that the planned elimination of 10,000 tourist flats by 2028 would inevitably reshape local commerce. ‘One of the consequences of eliminating tourist apartments will be a change in the kind of shops that currently depend on a type of visitor we are not interested in,’ he noted.
Collboni criticised the current legal framework, which he says leaves city halls powerless. The Catalan government’s omnibus law, he argued, loosened restrictions on commercial openings, meaning municipalities can only intervene retrospectively once shops are already operating. ‘The issue is who is buying in these places. It is tourism,’ he said, calling for town halls to be given the authority to approve openings beforehand.
Turning to public safety, Collboni highlighted a 16-month decline in crime rates, the longest in a decade, which he attributed to tighter police coordination and the expansion of criminal courts. He called for speedier trials for repeat offenders and tougher sentencing.
On transport, the mayor pointed to major infrastructure works, such as the metro’s line 9, aimed at improving public mobility and reducing car dependency. He also confirmed that the iconic Tramvia Blau will return, albeit at a higher cost than initially expected, and revealed plans for a dedicated space near the zoo in tribute to Snowflake, Barcelona’s famous albino gorilla.
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