If you’ve been paying attention to Barcelona for the past couple of years, you probably know that they’ve “had it up to here” with tourism. The proliferation of Airbnb has resulted in skyrocketing housing costs, overcrowding in the city, and a more chaotic way of life for residents.
It got to the point where there were demonstrations last year, when residents took to the streets to make their cause known. As reported in Time at the time, “Video footage showed protesters squirting water from colorful pistols at travelers who were dining in Las Ramblas, a tourist-heavy district. As soggy tourists awkwardly scurried away, Catalans were seen chanting ‘tourists go home’ and using red tape to cordon off hotel and restaurant entry points. Other demonstrators held signs that said ‘tourism kills the city.’
At the time, Barcelona’s mayor Jaume Collboni promised to eliminate Airbnb from the city within 5 years, and increase in their tourist tax from €3.25 ($3.52) to €4 ($4.33) per night (on the latter, ahem – big whoop). He also promised to decrease the number of cruise passengers who don’t spend the night in the city.
From Twitter:
Despite the mayor’s big words, 2025 has been no better, with thousands of visitors on a daily basis, many from cruise ships that made port in Barcelona for the day – Barcelona is Europe’s busiest port – resulting in thousands of tourists visiting the city. And with that, the water guns have come out again.
And finally, the government is making some more substantial plans.
According to Reuters.com, Barcelona’s city hall and port authority announced late last week that they’ve reached an agreement to reduce the number of cruise terminals from seven to five by 2030.
“For the first time in history, limits are being placed on the growth of cruise ships in the city,” Collboni (he’s still mayor) told Reuters.
Barcelona saw a 21 percent increase in cruise ship arrivals and a 20 percent rise in passenger arrivals to 1.2 million through the first five months of 2025. The new deal will reduce the port’s capacity from 37,000 to 31,000.
Mayor Collboni also revealed that the new deal will call for three terminals to be combined into one.
Port Authority officials said cruise ships homeporting in Barcelona would get priority as part of an effort to reduce emissions and encourage tourists to “stay longer and spend more in the city.”
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