Barcelona has attracted 26 million visitors last year, up 2.4% from 2024. The city's authorities have appointed José Antonio Donaire as the city's first commissioner for sustainable tourism. Donaire says, "We've reached the end of the road, Barcelona has reached the maximum number of tourists it can accommodate." He means that Barcelona can't accommodate any more tourists.

Donaire's plans include reducing the number of cruise ship berths from seven to five. He also plans to encourage repeat visitors to make day trips out of the city. This way, they won't be staying in the city overnight. He's also rescuing Barcelona's famous La Boquería market, which has been affected by mass tourism. La Boquería will return to being a market that sells fresh food rather than takeaway snacks. It won't be a place where you can just grab a quick bite to eat.

"We've reached the end of the road, Barcelona has reached the maximum number of tourists it can accommodate,"

Donaire says the aim is to reduce the number of leisure tourists. He wants to arrive at an equal three-way split between them, culture visitors, and people coming on business. This split won't happen overnight, but it's what Donaire is working towards.

About 65% of visitors are classified as "leisure tourists". The rest are either in Barcelona for conferences or are what Donaire describes as "cultural visitors" who come for the museums, architecture, and music festivals. Donaire plans to encourage this group to make day trips out of the city. He also wants them to visit areas such as Montjuïc, a large park that is home to several museums but scarcely any residents. Montjuïc is a great place to visit, and it's not crowded with residents.

In 2028, Barcelona's 10,000 legal tourist apartments will have their licences revoked. The city council hopes that the majority of these properties will find their way back on to the rental market. This could alleviate the city's housing crisis. Donaire accepts that this hasn't been the case in New York City, which in effect banned tourist apartments in 2022 without any subsequent increase in rentals. However, Barcelona has plans to incentivise landlords to put property back on the market.

They're offering incentives to landlords who rent to residents.

The city's attempt to curb visitor numbers began in 2017 with a moratorium on building new hotels in central Barcelona. However, that was largely undermined by the rapid surge in short-let tourist apartments listed on sites such as Airbnb. Donaire says the new policies are not aimed so much at reducing numbers as changing the profile and behaviour of visitors. They're trying to change the type of tourists who come to Barcelona.

The city is also clamping down on various forms of antisocial behaviour. This includes a ban on organised pub crawls. Donaire says, "We're not interested in this type of tourism and we want it to disappear." They don't want tourists who engage in antisocial behaviour.

  • 26 million visitors to Barcelona last year
  • 2.4% increase in visitors from 2024
  • 65% of visitors are classified as "leisure tourists"
  • 10,000 legal tourist apartments will have their licences revoked in 2028
  • Seven million annual day trippers to Barcelona

Barcelona's housing crisis has been exacerbated by the rise of short-let tourist apartments. The city's residents are finding it increasingly difficult to find affordable housing. Donaire's plans to incentivise landlords to put property back on the market could help alleviate the crisis. It's a crisis that won't be solved overnight, but Donaire's plans are a start.

The city's residents are hopeful that Donaire's plans will help to reduce the number of tourists. They want to make the city more livable. Donaire says, "Many citizens feel the city centre no longer belongs to them." They feel like they're losing their city to tourists. Donaire's plans might help them take it back. They're counting on him to make a difference.