Cruise passengers who dock for the day in Barcelona now face having to pay a hefty fee per passenger per day, as the mayor looks to slash the number of short-stay cruise visitors to zero
Barcelona’s city council has approved plans to triple the amount that cruise passengers pay when they take a day trip to the popular city break hotspot.
The levy for cruise ship passengers will be hiked from €8 to €24 per passenger. In addition, a €6 regional tourist tax is already payable to visitors who spend less than 12 hours in Barcelona, which means the cost of setting foot in the capital for cruise passengers will rise to €30 per person, just under £26.
The hike is part of Barcelona mayor Jaume Collboni’s plans to slash cruise tourism to the Catalan city according to cruise news outlet Deep Arrival.
Barcelona welcomed around 16 million visitors in 2025, 3.99 million of which were cruise passengers, with campaigners claiming that the influx puts a strain on public services and leads to overcrowding during the peak summer months. The tax increase is aimed at discouraging cruises from visiting the city completely, rather than just reducing overall numbers.
In July 2025, the city’s council approved plans to gradually increase the levy paid by cruise passengers gradually over four years, but reports within cruise trade publications indicate that this timeline could be sped up, and higher charges could be implemented as soon as 2027.
Cruises that begin or end in Barcelona would not be charged this increased fee, as these sailings are seen to have a postive impact on the city compared to day trips. A report on the sustainability of cruises on the city showed that day trippers from cruises spent an average of 5.7 hours in the city, and mostly visited popular attractions as as the Sagrada Familia and Park Güell.
Last year, Barcelona cut the number of cruise terminals from seven to five, and began to reroute larger cruise ships away from the most central ports, which now prioritise smaller boats and local marine traffic.
It’s not just cruise passengers who’ll pay higher fees in Barcelona. As of April 1, general accommodation tourist taxes have also increased, making them among the highest in Europe. Visitors pay both a regional and a municipal surcharge, meaning the total tourist tax ranges from €7 to €12 per person per night (approximately £6 to £10.38).
Barcelona has been at the heart of the overtourism protests sweeping Spain, and in June 2025 the city hit the headlines as protestors marched through the streets holding signs with slogans such as “Your Airbnb used to be my home”, and people sitting on outside terraces were squirted with water pistols.
Further protests are expected this summer from groups such as Menys Turisme Més Vida (Less Tourism More Life), including protests in Palma, Majorca set for July 26 to coincide with the start of school holiday season.
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