Barcelona is intensifying its campaign against overtourism with new measures aimed at reducing the number of short-stay cruise visitors arriving in the Catalan capital. Mayor Jaume Collboni has proposed accelerating a previously approved increase in the city’s tourist tax for transit cruise passengers, doubling the charge from EUR 4 to EUR 8 per night for ships making short calls in the port.
The increase had originally been scheduled to be phased in gradually over four years following approval by Barcelona’s City Council in 2025. Municipal authorities are now seeking to implement the measure within months as part of a broader effort to curb visitor volumes and reshape the city’s tourism model.
According to statements attributed to Collboni, the city administration intends to discourage stopover cruise traffic, particularly vessels whose passengers remain in Barcelona only briefly before continuing their voyage. He also indicated that the long-term objective was to eliminate this category of cruise call altogether while favouring tourism sectors viewed as providing greater economic benefit to the city, including business travel.
The proposed measures form part of a wider municipal strategy addressing concerns over overcrowding, pressure on housing, and the impact of mass tourism on public infrastructure and local communities. Barcelona has become one of Europe’s most prominent examples of overtourism in recent years, with growing public criticism directed at the scale of visitor traffic and the expansion of short-term accommodation.
City authorities have already introduced several initiatives intended to reduce tourism pressures. In 2024, Barcelona approved plans to reduce the number of cruise terminals from seven to five in an effort to limit passenger throughput at the port. Earlier this year, the city also implemented substantial increases in its wider tourist accommodation taxes, affecting hotels and holiday rentals across the metropolitan area.
The cruise sector remains a significant contributor to the local visitor economy. Official figures cited in recent reports indicated that Barcelona handled close to four million cruise passengers during 2025, including approximately 1.7 million transit passengers arriving on short port calls.
Debate surrounding the measures continues both within the city and across Spain’s tourism industry. Public discussion has reflected contrasting views between those supporting stricter controls on cruise tourism and others concerned about the economic implications for local businesses connected to the sector.