Barcelona extends 20-person tour group limit until September 2024

The Barcelona city council will extend the 20-people per tour group limit until September of next year.

Barcelona mayor Jaume Collboni signed a local decree to extend the measure this week, and it will likely come into effect in September. 

The measure, which came into effect last March, also caps the number of tour groups allowed in certain city center hotspots, such as Plaça Reial or Plaça Sant Felip Neri squares, at the same time.

Guides who do not comply with the regulation face fines ranging from €1,500 to €3,000.

Tour guides will also have to continue using audio guides and confirm they will not use speakers in order to reduce noise pollution. 

Other measures include ensuring safe and accessible tours, as well as setting up start, finish and break stops. All these will have to be clearly marked in the tour’s predicted route.

Guides are encouraged to not pick up new tourists along tour routes, promote scheduled visits, buy tickets to visit monuments in advance, and create mobility plans providing passengers with enough room to hop on and off tour buses.

Most guides respect regulation

Since the measure was implemented in March, there have been over 3,200 tour groups in Barcelona's main hotspots according to local police. 

Tour group sizes averaged 13 people per group.

Only 141 groups, or around 4.3% of those accounted for by police, did not comply with the 20-person cap.