As Aena is about to approve the investment plan for airports for the next five years and with the tourist season in full swing, the Barcelona Chamber of Commerce has argued that tourism paves the way for high value-added industries. "If we didn't have tourism, many sectors would suffer, and a lot. The knowledge sector for sure, and exports, too," assured the president of the institution, Josep Santacreu, this Monday.

The increase in housing prices is not a problem exclusive to Barcelona and its metropolitan area. In Catalan municipalities with more than 5,000 inhabitants, the value of the built square meter has risen by almost 63% on average between 2015 and 2025. L'ARA has compiled a ranking of municipalities where prices have soared the most in the last decade, based on sales data collected by the Generalitat.

Anthropic, the creator of the artificial intelligence chatbot Claude, has suspended public access to its most advanced artificial intelligence models, Fable 5 and Mythos 5. The decision comes at a time of maximum tension between the company and Donald Trump's administration.

The Spanish government boasts about the construction of protected housing (HPO). Spain has begun to build the highest number of HPO homes in a first quarter since 2012, in a context of prices at peak levels and access to housing among citizens' main concerns. In parallel, it has also reached the highest number of completed HPO since then.

The President of the Generalitat, Salvador Illa, tried to win over Catalan businesspeople during his intervention at the Cercle d'Economia announcing investments in "strategic infrastructures" through a public-private collaboration system to accelerate the construction of infrastructures with investments of up to 3.3 billion euros. This Tuesday, the executive council of the Generalitat "analyzed the projects" and the spokesperson for the Generalitat, Sílvia Paneque, assured at the press conference following the meeting that the Government's intention is for the works to begin in the autumn-winter of next year and for them to be available in about "six years".

Taking advantage of the attention generated about the Sagrada Família due to the Pope's visit this week, it has come to light that, until a few months ago, 70 of the tourist guides who taught about the temple were false self-employed. Last December, Labor Inspection forced the two companies responsible for the service to regularize the situation of the professionals, according to a statement from the Col·lectiu Ronda issued this Monday.

The sale price of housing in Catalonia during the first quarter has risen by 10.5% compared to the same period last year, below the state average of 12.9%, according to the housing price index published by the INE this Monday.

Pope Leo XIV's visit to Barcelona will be a major event – with massive gatherings and significant media attention – which will add to the influx of visitors who usually fill the city in early summer. However, what will be the economic impact for the city?

Young people and migrants are particularly suffering from the housing crisis in Catalonia, as in many other European regions. These two groups are an important part of the low-income population, who are the ones who suffer the most from this problem.

Sercortel has surpassed the barrier of one hundred managed hotels this 2026. It works to invoice 360 million in 2029, compared to the 200 with which it will close 2026. José Rodríguez (Barcelona, 1967) is the CEO of this company, which is in the hands of the Landon society, belonging to the Gallardo family, main shareholders of Almirall. It has no debt thanks to the management contract model, enjoys high occupancy rates all year round, and in 2027 will study expanding abroad. Rodríguez explains to ARA the keys to growth since before the pandemic – since then it will have multiplied turnover by 4.4 – and analyzes the challenges and strengths of the current tourism industry.

The National Markets and Competition Commission (CNMC) calculates that more than 509,000 travelers have given up using high-speed trains between Madrid and Barcelona compared to the times when they made the journey in "historical best times".

The heat arrives, and with it the peak months for tourism in Catalonia. This year the season kicks off after a record first quarter. Catalonia received the highest number of visitors in this period in the last decade between January and April, and it's also the year they have spent the most.

Xavier Berneda, executive director and co-owner of the Catalan sneaker manufacturer Munich, receives the ARA shortly before giving a talk at a meeting of the Catalan Fashion Cluster (Modacc) at Món Sant Benet, in Bages. As expected, he wears the X symbol on his feet and jacket, which is also sported by many of the collaborators who greet him.

The Government will extend the age of access to emancipation loans to 40 years from Monday. It is an "instrument to facilitate the payment of the down payment for a home for young people so that they can subsequently apply for a mortgage: "They encounter a barrier, a wall, which is the down payment," explained the President of the Generalitat, Salvador Illa, at an event at the Institut Català de Finances (ICF) this Friday.

The Government has launched the second edition of the Neighborhood Plan, one of the Salvador Illa executive's flagship measures. The socialists will make available to municipalities a fund of, "at least", 300 million euros to act in particularly vulnerable neighborhoods, assured the spokesperson and Minister of Territory, Sílvia Paneque. This is 29.3% more than the amount invested in the first call.

Searching on any of the major real estate portals for lofts or studios on the ground floor in Barcelona generates a results page full of listings for properties without a certificate of habitability available for purchase –mostly– or for rent, some of which at prices far above the market average and that can reach 760,000 euros. Despite being a legally required document to live in a dwelling, when asked by ARA, Catalan administrations –such as the Generalitat or the Barcelona City Council– do not currently provide data on inspections and sanctions for this matter.

When contracting a mortgage, interested parties pay banks certain provisions that are used to pay taxes, fees, and registrations. It is normal for the bank to temporarily hold the corresponding amount and for, later, an agency to handle all the required bureaucracy. However, in this context, a situation has come to light that would have left an as-yet-unspecified number of users unprotected. This is the case of the Tecnotramit agency.

After almost three months of budget negotiation, ERC and Comuns have managed to commit 893 million euros from the 2026 budget, 1.8% of the Generalitat's total spending of 49,162 million euros. Broadly speaking, however, the main figures of the accounts that the Minister of Economy, Alícia Romero, brought to Parliament this Friday are the same as in February: 49,162 million euros in budget spending, 4,146 million in investments, and 329.6 million in deficit (0.1% of GDP). Even the dossier presented as a summary of the project approved by the executive council this same Friday has been practically identical to the one from February. Where do these 893 million come from, then?

The Barcelona City Council plans to raffle 598 protected housing units (HPO) during 2026, more than 80% of which will be for rent. According to information obtained by the newspaper ARA, they are divided into twelve developments, and the council will hold a raffle for each one. To date, Barcelona has already held five, which have served to distribute 246 apartments, 41.13% of the total. A raffle is planned for this May, one in June, one in September, a couple in November, and two more in December.

The Spanish government announced this Thursday a new sanctioning procedure against a "large real estate company" – the executive refuses, for the moment, to make its name public – for allegedly violating consumer rights in housing matters. It is the fourth procedure on this issue opened during the legislature, which began three years ago, according to sources from the Ministry of Consumer Affairs confirmed to the newspaper ARA.