Cruise passengers face fee hike to visit popular city amid new crackdown
Visiting one of Europe's most famous cities could soon cost more as leaders launch a new tourism crackdown.
Barcelona, which is the Mediterranean's busiest cruise port, is notoriously against the mammoth vessels.
But now ships will be restricted to five, from seven, per day and taxes on passengers will go up.
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Barcelona, which is the Mediterranean's busiest cruise port, is notoriously against the mammoth vessels. Getty
The €4 ($6.50) per day charge for each passenger visiting on a ship will double by 2027.
And the mayor wants it to go up even more, USA Today reported.
Barcelona attracts 26m visitors a year and wants to change the kind of tourists who visit.
It also plans a fresh ban on pub crawls to combat antisocial behaviour.
It was a move which already started last year.
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Barcelona attractions 26m visitors a year and wants to change the kind of tourists it gets. Getty
"We're not interested in this type of tourism and we want it to disappear," José Antonio Donaire the city's first commissioner for sustainable tourism told The Guardian.
"We've reached the end of the road, Barcelona has reached the maximum number of tourists it can accommodate.
"We don't want more tourists, not even one more, but we need to manage those we have."
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And he added cruise passengers "create more problems than benefits".
The famous La Boquería market will even be banned from selling take away snacks in a bid to return it to being a locals' food market.
In 2028 the city will revoke licences on Airbnb and other tourist apartments and encourage landlords to rent them to locals again.
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Two years ago Venice became the city becomes the first in the world to charge day-trippers an entry fee. Getty
Many European cities are cracking down on tourists as they battle crowds.
Two years ago, Venice became the city becomes the first in the world to charge day-trippers an entry fee.
It costs between €5 ($8) and €10 ($16) per day.
However it mostly only applies on Fridays, weekends and public holidays.
Tourists are looking for Italian alternatives outside the most popular places like Rome and Venice.
Montesilvano, a coastal city east of Rome,
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Aussie favourite Bali also has a $15 tourist tax which the authorities claim goes towards helping the environment.
Another Aussie hotspot, Japan, has also started to slap tourists with extra fees.
The city of Kyoto confirmed it would charge an increased accommodation tax from March this year.
That amount depends on the cost of your accommodation. Those staying in luxury hotels (above $1000 a night) will pay the most - ¥10,000 ($100) per night.
Starting July 2026, the fee to leave the country will triple to 3,000 yen (about $26) per traveller.
Over in Edinburgh, the Scottish capital will start a tourist tax on 24 July, 2026.
It'll be a five per cent extra fee on the cost of overnight accommodation.
