Barcelona raises tourism tax to fund housing, making it one of Europe’s highest.

In an attempt to reduce tourism and support affordable housing, Barcelona increased its tourism fee to one of the highest in Europe on Wednesday, potentially taxing visitors up to 15 euros ($17.70) each night.

Residents of Catalonia have been vocally protesting the excessive number of tourists, claiming that this is driving up house prices through an increase in short-term vacation rentals.

In anticipation of a previously declared proposal to outlaw all short-term rental lodging by 2028, the Catalan regional parliament approved a measure that would increase the tax for vacation rental guests to a maximum of 12.5 euros per night, up from 6.25 euros.

Depending on the hotel type, customers will pay a maximum of 10 to 15 euros a night starting in April, up from the current 5 to 7.5 euros.

Since the local government can now charge up to 11.4 euros per night per person, a two-night stay for a couple at one of the four-star hotels, which make up over half of all hotels in Barcelona, could now cost an additional 45.60 euros.

Cruise passengers will continue to pay about 6 euros per night, while guests at five-star hotels may be charged up to 15 euros.

The law’s language states that a quarter of the money earned will go toward resolving the city’s housing crisis.

Barcelona is already incredibly expensive, according to 33-year-old Italian nurse Irene Verrazzo, who said she doubted she would go back.

“This additional cost doesn’t seem reasonable to me. They already profit from visitors’ purchases, visits to their monuments, etc.,” she stated.

Ivan Liu, a 21-year-old student and neighbourhood resident, said the raise looked acceptable but that it was unlikely to address the housing situation.

Prior to the tax increase, Barcelona was rated eleventh on Holidu’s 2025 list of vacation rental destinations, behind Amsterdam, where visitors paid the highest rate in Europe (18.45 euros per day).

Hotel owners are worried that too many of the 15.8 million tourists who visit Barcelona each year may be turned off by the tax increase. According to the local tourism board, the city is one of the top four convention destinations worldwide, and visitors will not be excluded from the fee.

The general director of Barcelona’s hoteliers’ group, Manel Casals, claimed that plans to progressively increase the levy in order to track its effects were disregarded.

“The goose that lays the golden eggs will be killed one day,” he declared.