4.8 stars from almost 150,000 reviews: Google users are enthusiastic about this “historical attraction”. It can therefore be assumed that many of the 3.4 million tourists who visit Seville every year also enter this place: the Plaza de España.
Strictly speaking, the Plaza, built by architect Aníbal González, is not just a square, but also a building. The arched Andalusian-style building, characterized by columns, turrets and ceramics, occupies half of the ensemble, which is interrupted by water basins. When it was inaugurated in 1929, the arch was intended to symbolize an embrace of the Hispanic sister countries in Latin America. The building, which has already served as a backdrop in feature films, is aligned with the Guadalquivir River, which flows into the Atlantic and is known to be used to reach the American continents.
But in the future, visitors will have to pay for this cultural experience. That’s what the city’s mayor, José Luis Sanz, wants, like the newspaper ABC of Seville revealed on Sunday. The money will be used to maintain the Plaza de España. The local politician’s plan is now making waves: Can you charge money to enter a square? Is public space being privatized here?
Tourism in Spain is booming, but for some it is slowly becoming too much
In response to initial protests on social media, the mayor specified his plans others on the radio. Accordingly, locals should continue to be allowed to enter the plaza free of charge. The money will enable around-the-clock monitoring of the “emblematic monument,” which notoriously suffers from vandalism. In addition, the Spanish state receives a quarter of the revenue. A cultural route is being developed for tourists at a “not intimidating” price.
Because the square is not only municipal land, but also falls under the administration of the state monument authority, Sanz, a member of the conservative Partido Popular, has to come to an agreement with the left-wing socialist government in Madrid. The responsible minister explained to El país, the application is not yet available. The opposition in Seville City Hall, meanwhile, is in favor of a general tourist tax rather than an entry fee for individual squares or monuments.
Earning more money from visitors is an understandable reflex in Spain. Tourist numbers have soared to record highs since the pandemic. There were more than 85 million visitors in 2023, which also costs a lot of money: municipalities have to clean up and hire more security guards, plus there is a greater need for medical care, more work for the judiciary and a lot more. In Santiago de Compostela, for example, the city cleaning service tours the area near the cathedral twice a day.
In Catalonia, hotels charge a fee for such expenses. But at some point Spain’s cities will reach their limits. Residents of the Sagrada Família in Barcelona organized protests last summer. In the Basque town of San Sebastián, the number of overnight beds was limited due to pressure from the local population.