Barcelona's new tourist law: City reveals new leglislation to keep tourists away

Barcelona is likely to give the go-ahead to new legislation aimed at curbing tourism. The law would limit the construction of hotels and stop licenses being issued to new tourist accommodation rentals, and would remain in place until arrivals to the city fall to more a manageable number.

Last year, an estimated 32 million tourists visited Barcelona, far outnumbering its 1.6 million residents. Anyone who has been in recent years will have witnessed the crowds on its most famous drag, La Ramblas, and clogging up the Barri Gotic's narrow streets.

But overcrowding aside, the city has been a victim of its own success, with strained resources and unsustainable property price increases causing tension among locals. In a city council survey last year, Barcelona residents said they thought tourism was a major problem in the city – second only to unemployment.

Popular tourist spot: La Rambla in central Barcelona.Credit: iStock

See also: La Boqueria: Tourist groups banned from Barcelona market

Ada Colau, the mayor, vowed to limit the number of visitors when she took office in June 2015. "If we don't want to end up like Venice, we will have to put some kind of limit in Barcelona," she told newspaper El Pais. "We can grow more, but I don't know how much more."

In November 2016, Barcelona announced plans to fine Airbnb $A723,102 for offering unlicensed accommodation

La Boqueria Food Market, located off La Ramblas in Barcelona, is also a big tourist magnet.Credit: Annie Dang

The law coincided with a planned protest on La Ramblas on Saturday by the umbrella group SOS Barcelona. The organisation, which comprises 40 community and resident associations, is demanding better wages for tourism industry employees and an end to property speculation in the city.

There are an estimated 75,000 hotel beds in Barcelona, and 50,000 beds in legal tourist rental properties – owned by private landlords and booked through websites such as Airbnb. However, there are also 50,000 illegal beds in properties unregistered for tourism use, and rental scams in the city are rife.

See also: Why everyone doesn't love Airbnb

In November last year, Barcelona city council announced plans to fine holiday rental websites Airbnb and HomeAway €600,000 ($A852,272) each for offering unlicensed accommodation – 3812 properties in the case of Airbnb and 1744 for HomeAway. "We are saddened by this decision and will appeal," an Airbnb spokeswoman said. "Barcelona is the only city in the world that has fined us."

But the proposed cap on new hotels has angered some members of Barcelona's tourism industry. "The focus of the plan is wrong," Manel Casals, director general of the Barcelona hoteliers association, told the Guardian. "Of the 32 million people who visited Barcelona last year, only 8 million stayed in hotels. 23 million were day-trippers who spend very little money in the city. You're not going to regulate tourism by limiting the number of beds. They're not regulating tourism, they're only regulating where people sleep."

The law will not affect hotel construction projects that are already in the pipeline, so it's estimated that the full effect won't be felt until 2019.

The Telegraph, London

See also: 20 things that will surprise first-time visitors to Spain

See also: The best country in the world for food