The tourist tax will be used to finance a total of 48 very diverse projects: from the Greek Festival, to guided visits to the Model, the Cavalcade of the Kings of the East, the Christmas lights or the plan to manage the most crowded tourist spaces of the city, in addition to specific actions around the Sagrada Família or the Carmel bunkers. The new package financed by the tourist tax totals 11.1 million that the City Council has distributed among 48 initiatives, 29 of which will be managed directly by the city’s districts and eight, through the Municipal Institute of Culture (ICUB) .
The tourist tax already represents the third source of income for the City Council, “a part is dedicated to promotion; another part, which in this package are two out of three projects, to return to the city through cultural projects or activities in the districts, and another part, to manage the impact of tourism”, explained Jordi Valls , deputy mayor of Economy, Finance and Tourism. So, 3,360,000 euros are allocated to the tourism promotion activities of the Barcelona Tourism Consortium and another 165,000 euros to the Destination Barcelona agreement.
Among the cultural activities are the Festival Llum BCN, the Grec and the Mercè 2024 (with 300,000 euros each), the Barcelona x10 (of cultural projects arising from the neighborhoods) which will have 700,000 euros, the 241,000 euros from the concert on the beach of the International Day of Music, and the Guadalajara International Book Fair with half a million. The improvement of the tourist use of the Gabriel García Márquez library and its surroundings will have 50,000 euros, and the parking plan in Gràcia, 275,000 euros.
The financing with the tourist tax of several Christmas events, such as the lights (450,000 euros), the artistic installation in Plaça Sant Jaume and the horse-drawn carriage (259,000 euros), the New Year’s party (300,000 euros) stands out. or the Christmas fairs of the Sagrada Família and the Kings fairs in Gran Via (110.00 euros).
Five of the projects have been allocated to the management of the tourist impact, including the action plan around the Sagrada Família and its surroundings, endowed with 200,000 euros. A further 78,000 euros will be allocated to the management and improvement of the Carmel bunkers, 100,000 euros to the management plan for high-traffic areas, and 60,000 to the existing mediation service between residents and tourist accommodation managers. In addition to the tourist tax, which will collect around one hundred million this year, the City Council estimates that the 12 million people who stayed in Barcelona during 2023 represent around 9.6 billion euros in total spending in the city, which means the direct employment of 100,000 people.
