Barcelona City Council has presented its Government Measure for Tourism Management 2024-2027, which seeks to improve the balance between tourism and the daily lives of residents and cement the city’s leadership in tourism management, planning, funding and social return. With a budget of €254.7 million that will be invested until 2027, the initiative includes 55 projects in 12 areas including accommodations, tourist attractions, sustainability and economic development and return.
One of the key projects is Zona Bus 4.0, which seeks to limit stops and parking spots for tourist coaches in order to lower their impact on certain areas of the city. Under the new measure, these vehicles will pay more to park in Barcelona.
The measure is also a way to protect the Plan for Managing Busy Areas (EGA), launched this summer, and for the first time integrates tourism management in a single model for the city that takes into account all the aspects of the visitor economy, which accounts for 13.9% of GDP and employs 150,000 people, making it one of the cornerstones of Barcelona’s economic activity.
The city will also continue cracking down on illegal tourist accommodations and create the Social Return Funds from Tourism (ReCiutaT) and an international network of urban destinations, all with a focus on sustainable and responsible tourism and on improving the sector, especially in terms of promoting harmony between these activities and city life.
