Barcelona and Tourist Taxes

[SBurgess]

If you have given thought to begin or end your Camino in Barcelona--Tourist taxes and a ban on
Short Term Rentals.

MSN

 

[wayfarer]

If you have given thought to begin or end your Camino in Barcelona--Tourist taxes and a ban on
Short Term Rentals.

MSN

Many of these articles are pure hype, the English press are full of them at the moment because of protests in the Canary islands against over tourism. It is hard to blame the locals as many cannot afford to rent or buy accommodation because there is more money to be made renting short term on Airbnb and Booking.com to tourists than renting long term to locals.
BTW there was always tourist tax in Spain and at the moment it runs between €1 and €1.20, not exactly deal breaker amounts.

 

[Kathar1na]

Many of these articles are pure hype, the English press are full of them at the moment because of protests in the Canary islands against over tourism. It is hard to blame the locals as many cannot afford to rent or buy accommodation because there is more money to be made renting short term on Airbnb and Booking.com to tourists than renting long term to locals. BTW there was always tourist tax in Spain and at the moment it runs between €1 and €1.20, not exactly deal breaker amounts.

Thank you for the clarification.

BTW, the linked MSN article isn't a particularly informative article if it gives the reader the impression that this is of great relevance to Camino pilgrims who begin or end their journey in Barcelona. Especially not when they are only staying one night or none at all. Because:

The measure that the mayor of Barcelona announced means that current licences for AirBnB type apartments will not be renewed starting in November 2028. That's four years, i.e. five summers and five pilgrimage seasons where no change will happen.

As to tourist taxes, as @wayfarer pointed out already, it is nothing new for Barcelona. The issue of tourist taxes is just a regional-political issue in Santiago de Compostela which is why we regularly see posts with links to articles in La Voz de Galicia about this topic on the forum. In contrast to Santiago, Barcelona had a tourist tax for over 10 years. This income goes partly to the administration of the region of Catalonia and partly to the administration of the city of Barcelona. The Barcelona city tax has been steadily increasing. In April 2023, it rose from €1.75 to €2.75 for all types of stay. From April 2024, it [increased] once again to €3.25. So that was an increase of 50 eurocent per night when staying in an accommodation in Barcelona. Did any Camino pilgrim who stayed in Barcelona recently for a night since April of this year even notice it?

 

[wayfarer]

Accommodation for tourists has to be sorted in a way that does not impact on locals being able to get affordable accommodation in their own area. This is a big problem in Ireland as well, the whole industry seems to be driven by greed now rather than common sense.

 

[JabbaPapa]

Stayed in Carcassonne last night, tourist tax at the youth hostel €1.10 - - < swoons !! >

 

[Kathar1na]

Accommodation for tourists has to be sorted in a way that does not impact on locals being able to get affordable accommodation in their own area. This is a big problem in Ireland as well, the whole industry seems to be driven by greed now rather than common sense.

I avoid using AirBnB. It is a kind of last resort for me, and during the long walk to Santiago I used it only once in Burgos for a night during Semana Santa (Easter week) where the whole town appeared to be fully booked (this does not include dormitory beds which I did not consider). It was not a separate apartment but rooms (they rented out 2 rooms) in a family/couple's apartment and they lived there, too. To me, this is not different to "staying with the inhabitant" in France or B&B type of accommodations that I know already from the late 1970s when staying for a night in a family home in Scotland where the family of four apparently had moved to their attic during the summer tourist season and made their own bedrooms available for their guests.

AirBnB and similar platforms work differently because they also take whole apartments off the long-term rental market for locals. And, I presume, it is a lucrative option for owners of more than one home and for small investors.

 

[Kirkie]

Such a lovely reminder of my first ever 'foreign' holiday in Bray, Ireland. 1966. Seven of us girlfriends lived for a week in a house where the owner and her son decamped somewhere for the summer to get some income. We were young, sharing space was easy. It was maybe called self catering...
Tourist tax is fair, in my view.
Post number 4 is short, sweet and to the point.
My recent stay in a casa rural in Los Oscos, Asturias, was courtesy of a local group of people who have banded together to promote their places - although they have had to bow the head to the online companies that are intermediaries and charge both sides more for the transaction. The apartment was spotless, and the locality, well, ideal for days of local walks and an evening seat to view this:



The more serious issue this thread raises is the current dreadful reality for local people unable to find decent accommodation for their everyday lives.
However, that last sentence nears political comment, so let it be deleted if reported.

 

[M2ME]

If you have given thought to begin or end your Camino in Barcelona--Tourist taxes and a ban on
Short Term Rentals.

MSN

Tourist taxes are nothing new and certainly not restricted to Barcelona. Fly into any airport in the USA and you’ll pay an assortment of fees and taxes. Stay in NYC, for example, whether in an hotel or an airbnb and you will pay state and city occupancy and hotel taxes. The effects of mass tourism on Barcelona have not been particularly positive. The 10 years after the olympics were a “golden age” since then it has been a slow decline. On a recent visit I was saddened at how much English was spoken in businesses as a matter of form and how little Catalan I heard. It seemed that the character of the place had changed and not (at least to this observer) for the better.