Catalonia to introduce tourist tax
VisitBlanes.com — The Government of Catalonia is planning to introduce a tourist tax to be paid by national and foreign tourists alike.
The plan is part of the autonomous community’s budget proposal for 2012, which now needs to get the approval of the Catalan Parliament.
According to Catalan Finance Minister Andreu Mas-Colell, the tax — ranging from € 1 to € 3 per night — represents a ‘symbolic’ amount.
Under the proposal guests of cruise ships and five-star hotels will pay € 3 per night. Visitors staying at four-star hotels will pay € 2 per night. Those who stay at any other accommodation, including apartments and campings, will be charged € 1 per night.
S'Abanell beach, Blanes
The taxes will be levied only for the first 10 nights of each visit.
Children under the age of 12, as well as the elderly, will not be subject to the tourist tax.
The Catalan Government hopes to raise 100 million Euro with the proposed tax.
The money will be used to finance the newly founded Tourism Development Fund, which will produce promotion campaigns for tourism in Catalonia.
Twenty five percent of the money would be shared with municipalities in the region to be applied toward the cost of public services.
In dicussing the tax proposal Andreu Mas-Colell has also mentioned the cost of subsidies to airlines such as Ryanair in efforts to have them maintain flights to and from Catalonia’s secondary airports of Girona and Reus.
Symbolic Tax
The Government says that many other tourists destinations, such as Paris, New York or Tokyo, already tax visitors.
According to Mas-Colell the government sees its proposed fees as ‘symbolic’ in that the rates depend on the purchasing power of each visitor. In addition, the Government wanted to assure that Catalonia’s competitiveness as a tourist destination would not suffer.
Tourist Sector Furious
Catalonia’s tourist sector is furious. It has always objected to any amount of tourist tax, the introduction of which has been discussed for years.
“The government has no idea what kind of damage it will do to our sector,” says Jordi Clos, president of the Barcelona Hotel Association — one of many business associations that have spoken out against the proposed tax.
The sector is particularly outraged by the fact that the plan was introduced by the CiU Government, which is the past has always indicated it objected to a tourist tax.
The budget proposal is being debated in the Parliament, and the final version is expected to be approved by mid-February.
