What Barcelona’s ‘not one tourist more’ plan means for visitors and the city

A seaside city with a distinct Catalan culture, Gaudí architecture, Camp Nou football matches and year-round festivals – these are some of the reasons Barcelona has become one of the most popular destinations to visit in Europe.

Yet locals and politicians have become increasingly concerned that the city is a victim of its own success, as overtourism has started to impact daily life in Barcelona.

Two years ago, frustrations materialised in the form of thousands of residents spraying diners at restaurants with water guns during a protest against mass tourism.

Last year, anti-tourism protests erupted once more as demonstrators took to the streets holding banners with slogans such as "mass tourism kills the city" and "your holidays, my misery".

As tensions over tourism continue in Barcelona, the city’s new commissioner for sustainable tourism has outlined a plan to rein in visitor numbers, with the message “not one tourist more”.

This doesn’t mean that Barcelona’s authorities will halt tourism, but here is what visitors should be aware of as travel to the city is set to change under the new strategy.

What does the ‘not one tourist more’ plan entail?

This soundbite came from Barcelona’s new commissioner for sustainable tourism, José Antonio Donaire, who spoke to The New York Times earlier this month.

In the interview, the commissioner details strategies he is developing to try to mitigate the impact that around 16 million annual visitors have on a city that is home to residents only a tenth of that number.

Under his guidance, Barcelona aims to restore a better quality of residential life in areas that have been hardest hit by tourism. For example, rising house prices and overwelmed public transport.

“The message of the city now is: not one tourist more,” Mr Donaire told the paper. “That the city has decided to fix a flat horizon on a curve that otherwise rises infinitely. We don’t want to grow more. We want the tourists that the city already has. There were 15.7 million tourists in the city in 2025 — that’s the threshold. Sixteen million is the maximum.”

He wants to do this by managing the type of tourists who arrive, as two-thirds are currently leisure tourists – although it is unclear what that means for the city specifically.

The commissioner says the city wants the makeup to be a third business travel, a third cultural travel and a third leisure, and is trying to strike this balance by doing promotions directed at those niches.

Mr Donaire said that the tourist demand cannot grow if the city limits the amount of accommodation on offer,

“Already this summer we’re seeing that there are people who can’t come because they can’t find a place to stay. We’re not going to respond to growing demand,” he explained.

Mr Donaire also wants the regional authorities to raise the tax on cruise ships so high that it deters any that only dock for a day, stopping day-tripping cruise passengers from visiting.

The commissioner hopes for more investment from the tourist tax into services that both visitors and residents use, such as security, sanitation, electricity and transport, as well as using it to help recover the city’s identity.

He points to one street in particular, La Rambla, in the heart of the city, that residents say they no longer consider their space and have stopped visiting due to the density of tourist traps. Mr Donaire hopes to see residents going for a stroll along the street once more.

He added that Barcelona is not coming from “an anti-tourist position”, but believes that the top priority should be a citizen’s right to live in the city, no matter how high the revenue tourism generates – which is currently 13 per cent.

What is already in place to tackle overtourism?

Barcelona has several initiatives proposed and already in place to try to prevent harm from too many visitors. Mr Donaire’s role is to help reinforce these policies.

In 2024, the council said it would not renew any holiday rental accommodation permits, with the aim of turning 10,000 flats currently used by visitors into residential apartments by 2028.

The city now has one of Europe’s highest tourist taxes after increasing the levy to €10-€15 (£8.60-£13) per person per night, depending on accommodation type.

Tourists visiting Barcelona must pay both a regional tourist tax and the city tax, which were hiked on 1 April 2026, making it among the most expensive visitor taxes in Europe.

In July 2025, plans were unveiled by the city council and the port to reduce the number of passenger cruise terminals from seven to five.

The changes will reduce Barcelona’s maximum cruise capacity from 37,000 passengers to 31,000 per day.

Politicians in Barcelona have shown their support for raising the tourist tax for day-tripping cruise passengers, possibly hiking the rate up to £26 a day. However, no new tax regulations have yet been made.

Some specific tourist hotspots are also set to introduce new rules to prevent overcrowding, such as La Boqueria market, which will prioritise selling local produce to residents.

Market stalls will be able to sell ready-made products, but cannot solely cater to tourists.

Read more: Spain says it expects to welcome a huge 100 million tourists this year