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Visits to Barcelona are about to get more expensive as the city plans to double fees for tourists staying in the highly visited Catalan capital, according to Reuters.
In late February, the regional parliament of Catalonia approved measures that would double accommodation fees to help combat the region’s high tourism volume, which many locals say is driving up the cost of living and housing.
Once in effect on April 1, hotel guests will pay between 10 and 15 euros per night, per person (roughly $12-18), up from the current fees of 5 to 7.5 euros per night, per person (about $6-$9). Fees will be based on hotel category, with high-end, luxury hotels seeing the highest nightly per-person fees.
In a luxury hotel booking that hits the maximum tax of 15 euros per night per person, two people staying three nights could add an additional 90 euros (about $105) to the final bill. Luckily, award bookings made with points can help save some serious cash — though some award bookings are still subject to local tourist taxes and fees.
Travelers booking short-term rentals, such as Airbnb properties, for example, will now pay up to 12.5 euros per night (about $15), double the current rate of 6.25 euros (roughly $7).
One quarter of these taxes, Reuters reported, will be used to help address Barcelona’s housing crisis.
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The city first introduced its tourist tax in 2012 as an early attempt to battle rising overtourism. Over the years, it’s gradually increased, but never as dramatically as the upcoming doubling of the tax.
Barcelona in particular has been at the forefront of the overtourism debate, with locals taking to the streets to protest mass tourism in 2025 and some going so far as to squirt tourists with water guns in popular, crowded areas.
Bottom line
Many popular tourist destinations around the world are increasing tourist taxes to mitigate overtourism. Starting in April, Barcelona will implement one of the highest tourist taxes in Europe, with nightly, per-person fees doubling from current levels. This means trips to Barcelona will be more expensive, and travelers should be prepared to pay fees of up to 15 euros per person, per night.
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