Barcelona restaurants refuse to tax tourists

The President of Barcelona Tourism wants to extend the tourist tax that people already pay when they stay in accommodation in Barcelona.

He says he wants to extend the tax to other areas of tourism. But his plan has hit a wall.

The Barcelona Restaurant Association has said they will refuse to put a tax on clients because they don’t serve tourists and residents will end up paying as well.

Roger Pallerols, the director of the Barcelona Restaurant Association which represents around 3,000 bars and restaurants in the city said that his members have flatly refused to cooperate.

Tourists coming into Barcelona on cruise ships and those staying in tourist accommodation currently have to pay a daily rate. Luxury campsites and 5-star hotels pay 3.50 per night, 4-star hotel tourists pay 2.25 euros, and between 1 euro and 1.70 for other establishments. Cruise liner tourists pay the most at 3 euros for each cruiser that stays longer than 12 hours.

But costs are set to rise with a payment of 3.25 euros a night for any cruise or establishment from 2024 and In June a new tax comes into force for coaches that park in the city’s coach parking areas.

Meanwhile, spokespeople for the bars and restaurants in the city have said that it would be impossible to ask for the passports of every person that entered a shop, bar or restaurant. Tourists could also be residents of nearby towns and cities who have come to Barcelona for the day or tourists staying in Costa Dorada who come on a day trip. How, he said do we get these people to contribute to the problems of saturation and noise?