MADRID (Reuters) – Barcelona will raise the tourist tax for cruise passengers who visit the city for less than 12 hours, the mayor said in an interview published on Sunday.

Jaume Collboni said the current tourist tax for cruise passengers making a stopover is 7 euros ($7.61) per day. He did not say how much the tax would be increased by.

“We are going to propose to significantly increase the tax for cruise passengers who make a stopover,” he told El Pais newspaper.

“In the case of cruise passengers who make a stopover (less than 12 hours), there is an intensive use of public space without any benefit for the city and a feeling of occupation and saturation. We want tourism that is respectful of the destination.”

He said tourists, not local taxpayers, should pay for local projects such as air-conditioned schools.

According to Collboni, the proposal must be approved by the Catalan regional government.

In recent weeks, anti-tourism activists have staged protests in popular holiday destinations across Spain, including Palma de Mallorca, Malaga and the Canary Islands. They argue that tourists are driving up property prices and that residents can no longer afford to live in city centres.

Another protest is planned for Sunday evening in Palma de Mallorca, the capital of the largest Balearic island.

Collboni announced last month that the city will no longer rent apartments to tourists from 2028. This is an unexpectedly drastic measure, because the city wants to curb rising house prices and make the city liveable for its residents.

($1 = 0.9194 euros)

(Reporting by Graham Keeley)