Overview
- PSC, ERC and the Comuns agreed on a joint text to raise the regional levy in stages starting in April, with final parliamentary approval expected by late February.
- In Barcelona, the regional base for a five‑star hotel rises from €3.50 to €7 per night, and the city’s municipal surcharge is set to climb from €4 to €5 in April, then €6 in 2027, €7 in 2028 and €8 in 2029.
- Any municipality across Catalonia will be allowed to add a local surcharge of up to €4, with discretion to apply it by neighborhood, establishment type and season, and the tax shifts to a single annual settlement in April.
- Other categories see steep increases, including tourist apartments in Barcelona from €2.25 to €4.50 per person per night, apartments elsewhere from €1 to €2.50, short‑stay cruise passengers potentially paying about €14, and €1 for public youth hostels.
- Industry groups from hotels, apartments and campsites denounced the plan as harmful to competitiveness and family budgets, warning Barcelona could rank behind only Amsterdam in Europe for tourist taxes, while the pact allocates roughly 75% of proceeds to promotion and 25% to housing policies.