In the bustling city of Barcelona, a new era of tourism management is upon us, and it's a tale of a man on a mission to reclaim the city's identity. Meet José Antonio Donaire, the city's first commissioner for sustainable tourism, who is determined to say 'no more' to the overwhelming influx of visitors and bring Barcelona back to its residents.
The numbers speak for themselves: a staggering 26 million visitors flocked to the Barcelona area last year, a 2.4% increase from 2024. This growth has sparked a paradigm shift in the city's approach to tourism, moving away from the notion of tourism as an unquestioned boon and towards a more nuanced understanding of its impact.
"We've reached the end of the road," Donaire asserts. "Barcelona has hit its limit, and we're saying no to more tourists. Our focus now is on managing the ones we have."
Donaire's mission is ambitious, and one of its key targets is the iconic La Boquería market. Once a haven for chefs and food enthusiasts, La Boquería has become a victim of its own success, overrun by tourists and inaccessible to locals. Donaire aims to transform it back into a fresh food market, banning takeaway snacks and returning it to its former glory.
"Within a year, you'll see the new Boquería," he promises. This is just the beginning of a broader strategy to reshape tourism in Barcelona.
The city's efforts to curb visitor numbers started in 2017 with a moratorium on new hotels in central Barcelona, but the rise of short-let tourist apartments on platforms like Airbnb undermined these efforts. Now, the city plans to revoke the licenses of its 10,000 legal tourist apartments by 2028, hoping to alleviate the housing crisis and bring these properties back into the rental market.
Donaire acknowledges the challenges, citing the example of New York City, where a similar ban on tourist apartments didn't lead to an increase in rentals. However, he believes Barcelona's incentives for landlords will make a difference. "If we can get those 10,000 apartments back on the residential market, it's like adding five years' worth of new housing stock," he explains.
Beyond reducing numbers, Donaire aims to change the profile and behavior of visitors. He categorizes tourists into three groups: leisure tourists, cultural visitors, and business travelers. His goal is to achieve an equal split between these groups, reducing the dominance of leisure tourism and promoting a more balanced and sustainable approach.
"We want to encourage tourism that benefits the city and its residents," he says. "Cruise ship passengers, for example, create more problems than benefits. They spend little and cause congestion."
Donaire also plans to target day trippers, who make up a significant portion of Barcelona's tourists. By increasing parking fees and forcing coaches to park on the city's periphery, he aims to reduce their numbers and encourage them to explore beyond the city center.
"We don't want to encourage tourism in areas that aren't prepared for it," he emphasizes. "We want to direct visitors to places like Montjuïc, a large park with museums and few residents, to spread the impact of tourism more evenly."
Additionally, Barcelona is taking a stand against antisocial behavior, banning organized pub crawls and investing in the city center to boost local commerce. Donaire's vision is clear: to restore Barcelona to its residents and create a more harmonious relationship between the city and its visitors.
"Many citizens feel the city center has been taken from them," he says. "Can we give it back? I believe so."
This is a bold and necessary step for Barcelona, and while some may be skeptical, Donaire's sincerity and ambition offer a glimmer of hope for a city struggling to balance its identity and its tourism industry.
