Amb the sensation that Both Barcelona and the whole of Catalonia adhere to its tourist limit and the certainty that they citizen discomfort with negative impacts of activities are going to get worseadministrations explore l’increase of taxation to the sector as one of the ways to regulate-it and limit-it. Ara bé, els experts consulted per aquest diari ho veuen com un pas insufficient i defend altres mesures con a más adients.
Both the City Council of Barcelona and the Generalitat of Catalonia have raised the recent darreres the need to increase taxes on tourism and the creation of new taxes. Així has confirmed in a recent interview the general director of Tourism of the Generalitat, Cristina Lage. After defining tourists as “temporary residents”, Lagé advocates intensifying the payment of taxes for part of this collective.
The Generalitat studies creating a new taxa for tourists
Attesting to this philosophy, the director states that the Catalan administration is studying establishing a tax for visitors who arrive by bus, in addition to increasing the taxes for staying in a hotel allotment or for travelers who dock at the port in Vaixell. “The tourist has rights and obligations and has to collaborate so that the society functions,” says Lagé.
Davant d’aquest announced, the experts showed their serious opposition to moderation, arguing that The creation of new taxes that tax activity does not have a direct effect on reducing the volume of tourists The most critical is that the strategies are only intended to transfer the places of the Habitatges d’Ús Turístic (HUT) to the hotels.
This debate on the expansion of tourism and its economic, social and urban impact has also reached the political sphere. De fet, the habitation price The regulation of tourist activities has been placed on the daily agenda since the turn of the political cycle after the summer holidays. The teacher Cristina Lagé states that the Government is due to these policies to limit the arrival of tourists and points out that in the high season, between June and August, the number of visitors will only increase by 0.3%. It speaks of a reorganization of activities in a sector that contributes 15% of the Gross Domestic Product (GDP) of Catalonia and that aspires to obtain quality work llocs.
In the municipal sphere, the PSC, which governs the Barcelona City Council, has reached an agreement with the Barcelona group in Comú per try to regulate seasonal travelers to the citymodalitat that is outside the preus topalls that mark the law. The agreement is marked in the negotiations with a view to the approval of the fiscal ordinances and the municipal budgets of any wine.
Measurement involves declaring all apartments in the city as permanent habitat and subsequently fixing the exceptions. The initiative is part of a set of actions within a future Pact for Habitatge, which would prioritize the increase in the number of apartments protected by renters and those destined for vulnerable communities.
New tax status in Barcelona
In the framework of the budgets of the Catalan capital for any 2025, the mayor of the city, Jaume Collbonihas presented them fiscal ordinances, which contemplate an increase in taxes on the Barcelona hotel sectorpushing the IBI from the current 1% to 1.08%. In addition to the IBI of luxury hotels, the proposal also foresees paying taxes on special properties, among which are creuers terminals, port infrastructures and pedestrian tunnels. In this case, the rate would go from the current 0.80% to 1.30% in three years.
Francesc Valls: “the trips have gone from being a luxury to being a first-class necessitate”
Question about the effectiveness of these movements, the director of the Càtedra Scenaris de Futur del Retail, Turisme i Serveis at the UPF Barcelona School of Management (UPF-BSM), Joseph Francesc Vallsremember that we are at a time when “destinations are no longer able to control their tourist flow, as The trips have gone from being a luxury to being a first-class baby. which is duen a terme on a regular basis”.
It gives a scene of extraordinary saturation, the recipe that Valls defends al·ludeix to control the phenomenon. “It is not about stopping or reducing the size, but rather organizing the growth that we can assume.” The lack of control recognized in the management of tourist habitats ends up affecting the population’s population. To stop the situation, the university professor defends “a rigorous control of the registry of tourist habitats.”
Comerços tancats with more tourism
Valls considers that the moderate increase in tourist taxes does not have any effect, since “it is indifferent to a tourist to pay 150 or 160 euros per night. That is to say, the increase in the price does not cover the visitor.” For this reason, it is most in favor of articulating a strict and complex regulation. “We need to be able to monitor and supervise tourist activity“The expert questions the paradox of how many traditional businesses sell to Barcelona, while at the moment, tourist density does not stop growing.
“It makes no difference to a tourist to pay 150 or 160 euros for a night. The price increase does not cover the visitor”
Per la seva banda, l’Barris Assembly pel Decreixement Turístic (ABDT), criticizes the announcements of the Barcelona City Council and the Government, as they underline that “public diners are allocated to facilitate the tourism industry’s better face.” In relation to the attempt to reduce the city’s housing capacity, it warns that the measures propose moving the tourist places from the HUT to the hotels. The ABDT regrets that the entity in charge of managing the investments followed the public-privat consortium Turisme de Barcelona, which “has proven to serve the money to favor the industry.”
The agents and experts of the sector urge the creation of a new tourism governance, in which planning, clear regulations with strict criteria and control of the compliment are priorities. Furthermore, there exists a cert agree that the impostos only serve to recaptar more, but they do not solve the problem. The material sources remember that the scenario after the Covid-19 pandemic has only allowed us to discover internal demand, but there have not been any steps forward in basic aspects such as planning, diagnosing, managing, regulating and controlling.
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