A council report into a proposed ecotax to be paid by visitors to Barcelona says that the move would not be viable (article in Castilian, La Vanguardia). The Plan Estratégico del Turismo de Barcelona estimates that tourists to the city bring in some €20 million a day, but recognises that many residents don’t feel that they benefit from these profits and often see tourists as an annoyance rather than a positive feature of Barcelona. As such, the city council commissioned a report regarding the possibility of introducing an ‘environmental tax’ on those who make temporary visits to the Catalan city as a way of increasing their contribution to the quality of life here. The report (which cost €16,187 and was viewed by journalists on Monday during the media review of investigations commissioned by the council in 2008) concluded that a tax on overnight stays (pernoctación) wouldn’t be possible in light of existing local fiscal regulations. However, they did explore either ways to introduce a tax including charging a daily rate depending on the class and category of the accommodation where tourists stay or charging a percentage of the total cost of the accommdation for each visit. In the face of probable opposition from the hotel sector to such tax plans, the authors of the study also suggested other ways of raising funds from tourists, for instance charging for city attractions that are currently free, such as Park Güell.