The future tourist taxes that will be collected in Barcelona, ??officialized by the City Council and already published by the media, foresee an increase in revenue from tourists. The maximum range will be around seven euros per night, which we will see if it is enough. The step forward to increase the final figure of the fee that visitors will have to pay is undoubtedly an important element, both those who enjoy five-star hotels and those who crowd into tourist apartments or cruise passengers who don’t even stay overnight. Although the measure excites a part of the tourism business, it is necessary, and I would dare to say that the final amount that will be collected by tourism is short.
The deputy mayor of the Barcelona City Council, Jordi Valls, already warned of a truth in capital letters: “No tourist will stop coming because of the tax”. Indeed, this is so. And if they stop coming, it will be the type of tourist that causes more expense than benefit to the city (except for whoever rents the accommodation for them) and, therefore, it is not worth fighting for. If we want to turn towards higher quality tourism, one of the old aspirations of the sector and the city, having a notable rate is a good measure. But I insist. Nothing would happen if this rate were higher in all sections. You shouldn’t have complexes when it comes to being the European city with the highest rate (for now it’s only in the head group). What matters is that Barcelona collects more money and that this figure goes towards making life easier and cheaper for the people of Barcelona who pay the high taxes in this holy city.
In the overall figure of the tourism tax, a section is autonomous (and should also be allocated to services for Barcelona) and the rest is municipal competence, and this part should go, seeing how the city is, to cleanliness and safety. Not one euro of these fees should be used to finance other types of municipal plans. This economic amount would be advisable to alleviate the huge expenses generated by cleaning and security, precisely two of the elements that tourists request most when they visit Barcelona and that are most necessary when the population in the city increases as a result of the arrival more visitors That is why the measure is necessary, it will not affect the large budgets of those who visit quality establishments, and those who resort to cheaper accommodation must understand that visiting this city is more expensive than in other places with less tourist appeal. The challenge for the City Council – in addition to trying to raise this rate again – is to ensure that this extra money is used for the important things, those that allow the people of Barcelona to walk on cleaner and safer streets.
