Tourist tax rates in Catalonia are to double, as officials step up their efforts to control visitor numbers to the popular Spanish region.
Spain was gripped last year by a series of protests against mass tourism, with demonstrators taking to the streets in their tens of thousands across the country’s holiday hotspots.
One key issue for protesters is the proliferation of holiday flats, which local residents say is pricing them out of the rental and property market.
Spooked by the growing public anger, local authorities have moved quickly to try and douse the flames of protest.
Catalonia plans to double tourist tax rates by the end of 2025 and allocate at least 25% of the proceeds to housing policies.
The levy will start at €2 (£1.65) per day for visitors at campsites in Barcelona and rise to €7 (£5.78) for those staying in 5-star hotels in the regional capital.
Elsewhere in Catalonia, tourists will pay from between €1.20 (99p) and €6 (£4.95) per day, depending on their accommodation.
Last year, Catalonia raked in more than €90million from the tourist tax (£74m).
With the levy increase, that figure is expected to rise to €200 million (£165m) per year, if tourist numbers continue to grow at the present level.
The central government is expected to rubber-stamp the initiative, despite protests from tourist industry leaders.
Housing has become a hot issue for Spain’s politicians as rents continue to rise as a result of both the redevelopment of working-class areas and landlords switching to more profitable, short-term tourist lets.
Data from the Catalan Housing Agency shows that rentals signed in the second quarter of 2024 in Barcelona were almost 70% higher than in the same period of 2014.
The problem is not confined to Barcelona and the Catalonian region, with protesters in Tenerife identifying soaring rents as a major point of contention.
During a huge protest in April 2024 held on the Canary island, Lydia Morales told the Express her wages as a teacher were barely enough to help her pay her rent.
“The benefits of tourism are only felt by a small number of people. Even as a teacher I struggle to afford rent because it is too expensive,” she said.
She added: “The priority of the politicians is still creating more construction of towers for tourism complexes.
“The priorities of the citizens of the country are left behind, we don’t have a hospital in the south of the island, the infrastructure is collapsing because there is so much traffic.”
