Barcelona Mayor Jaume Collboni recently announced his firm intention to eliminate stopover cruise ship visits to the city. He proposes a significant increase in the tourist tax for these passengers and aims to remove the current tax cap.
The Mayor stated this goal at a Socialist Party of Catalonia (PSC) convention in Barcelona on Saturday. He plans to raise the stopover cruise passenger tax from €5 to €8 this year, rather than over four years as previously scheduled. Additionally, he seeks coordination with the Generalitat of Catalonia to remove the €8 limit, allowing for further tax increases on these cruises.
New Tax Hike Proposed for Cruise Passengers
"This increase would help fund the services these cruise passengers use in the city," Mayor Collboni explained. He added that it would "economically disincentivise a type of stay that generates no income for Barcelona, but leaves a significant impact." Collboni argues that this tourism creates "mass tourism" and "intensive use of public space and services," particularly in the city centre.
Barcelona recorded 3,999,258 cruise passengers in 2025. Of these, 1.7 million were stopover passengers. Collboni believes this mass tourism "risks the city's quality of life." He insists that tourism must serve the city, not the other way around.
Shifting Towards Quality Tourism
Mayor Collboni advocates for setting limits on this activity and promoting quality tourism. He highlighted the ongoing renovation of Fira de Barcelona, including the Montjuïc venue reform and the Gran Via expansion. These projects aim to boost "congress tourism, which brings added value and connects with the city's knowledge economy."
Funding Public Services
Collboni also defended the existing tourist tax and municipal surcharge. These funds have helped equip 60 schools with climate control, support public housing initiatives, and improve neighbourhood services. "We must defend the right to stay in the city," he proclaimed to party colleagues. "We do not want to go backwards, but we want a cohesive city."
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Originally published by La Vanguardia Barcelona. Read original article.
