Barcelona wants to buy premises in the city centre with the tourist tax to preserve local trade
The council received 148 million euros through this tax in 2025. The initiative aims to prevent the closure of local businesses due to visitor-oriented offers.
The Barcelona City Council, led by Jaume Collboni, aims to intensify its efforts to control tourism pressure in the city center and the transformation of local commercial areas. The council wants to buy commercial premises to ensure they are used by residents, using funds from a tax on tourist overnight stays. The purchase of premises would help restore balance between residents and tourists, according to José Antonio Donaire, Commissioner for Sustainable Tourism Management in Barcelona. Details on when and how the premises would be bought and later commercialized are not provided.
Written by urgent.news from El Pais Economia's report — not a translation of it. Machine-written — may contain errors; check the original before relying on it.
