Barcelona's new commissioner for sustainable tourism, José Antonio Donaire, has said the city should accept no further growth in visitor numbers, arguing that the Catalan capital has reached the maximum level it can absorb.

For residents, the immediate issue is not abstract policy but daily life: housing costs, crowded public transport and pressure on neighbourhood shops and markets. According to reporting in The New York Times and statements cited by Catalan News, Donaire's brief is to reduce the impact of roughly 15.5 million to 16 million visitors a year and restore residential life in the parts of Barcelona most affected by tourism.

"Barcelona has reached its growth limit," Donaire said, according to Catalan News, adding that there should be "brave policies" to limit tourism.

He also said, in remarks reported by The Bali Sun, that: "We've reached the end of the road, Barcelona has reached the maximum number of tourists it can accommodate." He added: "We don't want more tourists, not even one more, but we need to manage those we have."

What the city says needs to change

Donaire's role was created by Barcelona City Council last year as part of a shift away from promoting tourism and towards managing it. Mayor Jaume Collboni said, according to Catalan News, that the aim is to "move from promoting the city to managing the tourism industry" and to find a model that does not harm local life.

The pressure points identified in the source material are specific. The New York Times reported that overtourism has contributed to rising housing prices, overloaded public transport and the spread of souvenir-focused businesses in historic areas. One example given is La Boqueria market, where stalls that once sold produce, fish and meat for local shoppers now often cater to visitors with takeaway fruit and fried seafood.

Donaire, who lives in the area and is also a professor of tourism studies at the University of Girona, told The New York Times that local shoppers have adapted their routines inside the market.

"Normally the back of a market is less attractive; it's where the products are unloaded," he said. "But at the Boqueria, it's the reverse. We locals always enter through the back to avoid the traffic jam at the front."

He told the newspaper that one goal is to make Boqueria a market where Barcelonans again want to shop, including through the front entrance.

Which policies are already in place

The phrase "brave policies" in Donaire's remarks refers to measures already started or announced by the city to restrain tourism growth rather than simply market Barcelona to more visitors.

  • A tourist tax on accommodation is already in place, according to The New York Times.
  • A ban on holiday rentals is due to take effect in 2028, according to The New York Times.
  • Barcelona City Council created a committee in 2025 to manage mass tourism under Donaire's leadership, according to Catalan News.

Catalan News reported on 20 June 2025 that the committee was created amid record visitor numbers, debate over the tourist tax and a long-running argument over cruise ships. In that report, Donaire said it was essential "to build an industry model that respects locals".

The New York Times said the city's current approach builds on work begun nearly a decade ago, when the municipal government adopted its first policy aimed at restraining overtourism.

What residents can do next

Residents who want to follow or challenge the city's approach should monitor announcements from Barcelona City Council, which is the body leading the tourism management committee described by Catalan News. The source material does not give a public consultation date or a specific participation portal for this issue.

What is clear from the city's public stance is that the council intends to manage existing visitor numbers rather than increase them, with special attention on neighbourhoods where tourism has displaced everyday residential use. The clearest confirmed deadline in the measures cited so far is 2028, when the ban on holiday rentals is due to come into force.

Reported by Source Text Link, Oguz Ozdemir, voyagetimes.com, The Bali Sun, catalannews.com, straitstimes.com, finanzen.at, opronews.com, matr.net, ekathimerini.com, The New York Times.