Photo: Enrico Perini/Pexels
Barcelona is on the frontlines of a global crisis of unsustainable tourism that dates back to hosting the Olympic Games in 1992. But that has begun to change. In 2022, it received 12.4 million tourists, significantly fewer than the record year of 2019, yet the amount spent by each visitor increased. Ada Colau, mayor from 2015 to 2023, limited the number of permitted hotel beds, banned new hotels in the historic center and opposed an airport extension that would have increased capacity from 50 to 80 million arrivals a year. Landlords wanting to rent apartments on Airbnb must obtain a tourist license from city hall. Guided tours are capped at 30 people and must follow one-way routes and use headphones. The city has introduced a tax for cruise passengers in addition to the nightly tourist tax for all visitors.
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