As in 2015, Barcelona will end up receiving an extra two million euros from the Tax on Stays in Tourist Establishments (IEET), collected by the Government of Catalonia. The allocation is a step towards greater participation by Barcelona in the collection of the tax, even though the municipal government is calling for the total amount, to be able to tackle the effects of tourism and compensate the neighbourhoods which bear the brunt of it. The intention to allocate 9 million euros a year to projects to decentralise tourism and increase cultural offerings is being consolidated.

The IEET has paid for projects to get visitors into the neighbourhoods, such as the plan to manage tourism at Turó de la Rovira (Horta-Guinardó), the project at the Casa de l’Aigua in Trinitat Nova (Nou Barris), guided tours in Sants, Hostafrancs i la Bordeta (Sants-Montjuïc), and campaigns to promote tourism in Barcelona and its neighbourhoods. The Councillor for Tourism, Agustí Colom, pointed out that the municipal government maintains “the will for the tourist tax to compensate the territory”, among other things.

In terms of boosting cultural offerings, notable initiatives include the new August programme for the Teatre Grec, the finalisation of work to renovate the murals in the Sant Miquel chapel at the Pedralbes monastery, and the new SonarKids activities in the district of Nou Barris.

Barcelona has received nearly 29 million euros since the tax was created in 2012, a third of the overall amount collected by the Catalan Tax Agency. The Government of Catalonia regulates the tax and the participation of local entities.