Barcelona takes new measures to combat overtourism. Cruise ship passengers will pay more for docking in the city

Jaume Collboni said the current tourist tax for cruise ship passengers who stop over is 7 euros per day. He did not say how much the fee would increase.

“We are going to propose … a significant increase in taxes for cruise ship passengers who stop over,” he told The National.

“For the case of cruise ship passengers on a stopover (less than 12 hours), the intensive use of public spaces does not do the city any good and creates a feeling of busyness and saturation. We want a tourism that respects the destination”, aptly added Mayor Jaume Collboni Reuters.

He believes that tourists, not local taxpayers, should foot the bill for local projects such as air-conditioned schools.

Coboni said the proposal would have to be agreed by the Catalan regional government.

Anti-tourism activists have staged protests in popular Spanish holiday destinations such as Palma de Mallorca, Malaga and the Canary Islands in recent weeks, saying visitors are driving up housing costs and making them unaffordable for city centre residents.

Koboni announced last month that the city would ban renting apartments to tourists by 2028, an unexpectedly dramatic move aimed at reining in rising housing costs and making them more affordable for the city’s residents.