Popular Spanish city could introduce new tourist tax affecting Britons this year

Barcelona’s city council wants to increase its share of the tax from 3.25 euros to four euros maximum. Added to the tourist tax charged by the Generalitat of Catalonia, this means a visitor staying overnight in a five star hotel would pay a total of 7.5 euros a day.

Hotel leaders in Barcelona have already vented their anger at the proposal which could come into force any time between this October and next April.

“The hotel sector in Barcelona already contributes widely with the taxes that levy its activity. In fact, the group of hotels in Barcelona contributes more than 400 million euros annually in taxes (VAT, Corporate Tax, IAE and IBI),” said a spokesman for the Barcelona Hotels Guild.

Barcelona currently applies a surcharge of 3.25 euros per overnight stay in any establishment and to cruise passengers, an amount that is added to the tourist tax charged by the Generalitat (which varies depending on the type of accommodation). 

Fourth deputy mayor of Economy, Finance, Economic Promotion and Tourism of Barcelona City Council, Jordi Valls, said that the proposal to increase the surcharge on the tourist tax will be presented at the municipal plenary session in July.

He confirmed that with this increase, Barcelona would go from collecting 95 million (75 from the surcharge and 20 from the Tax on stays in tourist establishments) to 115 million euros.

Since April 1 this year, the council has collected 3.25 euros per overnight stay in any establishment and from cruise passengers, an amount that is added to the general rate that the Generalitat imposes.

In October 2023, the municipal Government announced its intention to raise the surcharge for short-stay cruise passengers (less than 12 hours) and tourist apartments from 3.25 to four euros.

Now, however, the increase is contemplated in all sectors, including hotels of either four and five stars, the rest of the facilities and establishments and long-stay cruise passengers (more than 12 hours).

“On June 12, we made a formal request for a report to the Tax Council to increase the tourist tax to four euros. We want to present the proposal in July and, depending on whether there are allegations or not, the measure could be applied between October of this year and April 2025,” said Mr Valls.

Barcelona isn’t the only tourist destination in Spain levying fees on visitors to handle their impact, according to EuroNews.

The Balearic Islands (Majorca, Menorca, Ibiza, Formentera) impose a nightly charge of one to four euros for each tourist aged 16 and over.

This fee, known as the Sustainable Tourism Tax, is utilised to foster better tourism practices and protect the islands’ environment.

Valencia intended to implement a comparable measure at the end of last year, but it was abandoned following the 2023 elections. It would have required travellers to pay between 50 cents and two euros per night for up to seven nights.