Tourism must be sustainable

Tourism has been a fundamental sector for Catalonia for years, especially since the 1992 Olympic Games. It's a business that generates direct and indirect economic activity, as well as many jobs. According to the latest Social Security data, in November, more than 291,000 people in Catalonia were registered with the hospitality industry, travel agencies, and tour operators, of whom 235,000 were salaried employees—the rest were self-employed. This represents around 8% and 7% of the total, respectively. Although there are many ways to calculate it, depending on the activities involved, it's estimated that the tourism sector can account for roughly 10% of the gross domestic product (GDP), that is, one-tenth of the wealth generated in the country in a year. But it doesn't only generate positive externalities, but also negative ones. Visitors use the services and infrastructure of towns and cities, generating additional costs that local councils must cover. There are few ways to mitigate these effects. One is to raise taxes on all citizens, who end up paying more to partially cover the needs of temporary residents. This is the approach that cities like the Catalan capital, Barcelona, ​​have tried to offset with a surcharge of four euros per night, which will rise to five once the agreement on the tourist tax between the Socialists, ERC, and Comuns comes into effect. In fact, the City Council has repeatedly stated that the municipal government has not raised taxes on families and SMEs thanks to tourism and the surcharge applied to the city.

With the effects of the 2020 pandemic now behind us, visitor arrivals are growing again. This is demonstrated by data such as the record reached at Barcelona airport. with more than 57 million passengers in 2025And also the evolution of visitors, especially foreigners, with more than 19 million in Catalonia up to November. These are record figures, although growth is slowing, which is not surprising given the ever-increasing base of calculation.

The tourism sector has once again criticized the agreement that the PSC, ERC, and Comuns, after some back and forth, seem to have finally reached. Charging a small portion of what tourists spend to mitigate the effects of their use of services and infrastructure doesn't seem unreasonable, provided that the purpose for which the revenue will be used is very well protected. It's not a bad idea for 25%, for example, to be allocated to housing policies, as is planned in this case. Especially since the proliferation of tourist apartments contributes to driving up prices. A few extra euros per night probably won't significantly reduce the number of visitors—one of the goals should be to have fewer visitors but for them to spend more—but they can help move towards more sustainable tourism, one that at least finances its negative externalities and is less disruptive to local residents. The sector is criticizing the measure, although some representatives are complaining more about the amount than the fact that the revenue is earmarked for specific purposes. Time will tell.