Spain is struggling to balance protecting its booming tourist industry, which accounts for about 12 per cent of GDP, and dealing with a growing housing crisis that critics say is caused by the rise of tourist flats in major cities like Barcelona, Madrid and Malaga.
Catalonia’s coalition left-wing authority will put 25 per cent of the cash raised from higher tourist taxes towards providing social housing.
Tourists visit Park Guell in Barcelona (Photo by Josep Lago/AFP)The tax for cruise passengers who spend less than 24 hours in the city will rise from €3 (£2.50) to €6 (£5).
In 2023, Catalonia raised €90m (£74m) from the tourist tax but the latest increase in the charge will bring in €200m (£165m) this year for regional government coffers.
David Cid, a spokesman for the far-left Comuns party, which supports the Socialist regional government, said the tourist tax hike would not deter tourists.
Protesters march along Gran Via avenue during a demonstration against the rent prices in Barcelona in November (Photo: Bloomberg via Getty Images)“A person who comes to Barcelona and pays between €300 (£250) and €400 (£330) for a hotel night can perfectly pay seven euros more.”
'Cruises are not the problem' - Barcelona's businesses hit back at tourist crackdown
Read MoreThe Barcelona Hotels Guild said in a statement: “If this measure is applied, Barcelona will become one of the cities in Europe with the highest tourist tax in all hotel categories, above cities like Paris and Rome, whose average hotel prices are higher than those of Barcelona.”
Paris charges five-star hotel guests €11.38 (£9.40) per day in tourist tax. In Rome, the top daily tourist tax is €7 (£5.80).
It added that it was “not willing to continue being a constant source of funding for [local] administrations”.
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