Visiting Barcelona (Spain) will cost more as of April 1, 2024

28-03-24

Barcelona's tourist tax will go up again on April 1. Since 2012, the city has added an extra fee to the regional tourist tax.

In 2022, city officials announced that the rate would increase over the next two years. The city's surcharge varies depending on the type of visitor's accommodation and only applies to official tourist accommodations.

Barcelona is Spain's most visited city and continues to fight against excessive tourism. Visitors to Barcelona now have to pay both the regional tourist tax and the municipal surcharge.

The regional tax varies according to the type of accommodation. For four-star hotels it is €1.70, for rental accommodations such as Airbnb it is €2.25, and for five-star and luxury hotels it is €3.50.

Cruise ship passengers spending less than 12 hours in the city pay €3 to the region, while those spending more than 12 hours pay €2.

The city tax, which applies to a maximum stay of seven nights, has continued to increase. In April 2023, it went from €1.75 to €2.75 for all types of stays. From April 2024, it will rise again to €3.25.

As of April 1, 2024, visitors to Barcelona will have to pay €3.25 to the city in addition to the regional tourist tax, an increase of €0.50 per night.

That means guests in five-star accommodations will pay a total of €6.75 per night, or €47.25 per person per week of stay.

For rental accommodations, the fees amount to €5.50 per night or €38.50 for a one-week stay, plus the nightly cost of the accommodation.

Day cruisers will pay 6.25 euros. The idea is to encourage "quality" tourism as opposed to mass tourism, according to the city's mayor.

Barcelona authorities have stated that the increase in the tourist tax is intended to attract "quality" tourism over large numbers of visitors. The city receives an average of 32 million visitors a year, many of whom arrive on cruise ships.