Tourism

The plan aims to minimise the negative side-effects that can result from tourism at certain times while ensuring that this activity continues to thrive in Barcelona.

The Barcelona City Council has laid down a new tourism management plan for the city based on the definition of 16 Crowded Spaces (EGAs). Taking each area’s specific characteristics into account, the EGA management plan establishes a single governance model that is solid, active and collaborative. The EGA Plan’s ultimate aim is to minimise the possible side-effects of tourism while ensuring that this activity continues to thrive in Barcelona and bring the city wealth and vitality.

The Barcelona City Council has always been a pioneer in the regulation of tourism. And now it is taking this a step further with the EGA Plan, which has started to be rolled out. The goal is for Barcelona to retain its position as a leading city in tourism management by establishing a specific model for its most crowded areas, regardless of whether they are busy mainly due to residents or visitors. All 16 specific EGAs deal with public-space occupancy and saturation based on high mobility and large flows of people. Their uses and activities have been transformed, with a predominance of those focused on visitors, and some residents even face difficulties engaging in daily activities and community life.

The 16 EGAs defined by the City Council are: La Boqueria – La Gardunya, La Rambla, Barri Gòtic, Sant Pere – Santa Caterina – La Ribera, Barceloneta, Mercat de Sant Antoni., Pg. de Gràcia – Pl. Catalunya, Sagrada Família, Montjuïc – Poble-sec, Camp Nou, Park Güell, Turó de la Rovira, Les Glòries, Rambla del Poblenou, Front Litoral i Parc del Fòrum.

Half of these are considered predominantly tourist-heavy: Park Güell, Sagrada Família, Boqueria – Gardunya, Passeig de Gràcia – Plaça Catalunya, Barri Gòtic, La Rambla, Sant Pere – Santa Caterina – La Ribera and La Barceloneta.

The definition of the EGAs and their governance model has started by prioritising the three areas with the most visitors: the area around Sagrada Família, Park Güell and the area between the La Boqueria Market and Plaça de La Gardunya. The launch of the EGA Plan and the designation of the first three places for priority action entail the roll-out of 33 specific actions and a minimum investment of €44.2 million in the current political term.

Measures in the Plan

The city’s measures include establishing an EGA Technical Coordination Office jointly run by the municipal company Foment de Ciutat and the City Council’s Department of Tourism with an annual budget of €150,000, as well as creating an EGA data office to ascertain and properly analyse the Plan’s impact on these areas. Extraordinary funds of around €1 million per year from the Tax on Stays in Tourist Establishments (IEET) will also be allocated to the implementation of measures in these EGAs.

City-wide, the EGA Plan also involves measures such as increasing the number of civic officers operating during the summer season to 70, compared to the 58 operating during the rest of the year; launching a local retail support programme for these areas; tightening controls over street peddling; and increasing cleaning and security operations during the summer months.

The Sagrada Família EGA

In the priority EGAs, work near the Sagrada Família has started this summer to define the urban development project for Carrer de Provença and Carrer de la Marina and improve the underground entrances, with a planned investment of €11 million; some €2.75 million will be invested to renovate Plaça Pablo Neruda; the public spaces and urban features around the Sagrada Família itself will be redeveloped at a cost of around €150,000; the overhead power lines will be buried at a cost of €800,000; local retail support measures will be launched to strengthen the Avinguda Gaudí area; an analysis of accessibility in the area will be conducted; and other measures that are already in progress will continue, such as the recent changes to parking for tourist coaches.

The Gardunya – Boqueria EGA

In the Gardunya – Boqueria EGA, €1.8 million is to be allocated to improving the Jardins del Doctor Fleming gardens and to carry out ad-hoc actions on Plaça de La Gardunya; four new civic officers will be hired for La Boqueria Market and its surrounding area; and the porch in the Rubió i Lluch gardens and the façade of the Carrer de l’Hospital site will be renovated and consolidated. This is in addition to a specific plan to transform the community life and security dynamics in Plaça de La Gardunya.

Park Güell EGA

Regarding the Park Güell EGA, some of the measures envisaged in the Plan have recently been submitted. They include the expansion of the restricted-traffic area in La Salut neighbourhood, changes to the taxi stops, the addition of extra buses for bus routes 24, V29 and 116 – the 116 has been removed from routing apps – and the introduction of only online ticket sales for the park. The EGA Plan also includes other measures, such as an investment of around €7 million to redevelop the area around Park Güell, including Carrer del Torrent del Remei, Font del Carbó and the entrance to Passatge Turull from Carrer del Repartidor. The Plan also provides for La Miranda in La Salut neighbourhood to be acquired for use as a public facility with the aim of consolidating it as a cultural and community space for the neighbourhood.