Ports are progressing at cruising speed

This employer association brings together large companies such as Royal Caribbean, MSC Cruises, Norwegian Cruise Lines and Costa CruisesAlong with other shipping companies, it predicts that Europe’s major ports will reach close to 50 million cruise passengers this year. Spain will concentrate almost 20% of the world volume. In Spain, which has left health restrictions behind, applications to register for these huge pleasure boats have, for the first time, exceeded the reservations made before the impact of the coronavirus.

According to CLIA data, this tourism-related activity contributes 2.8 billion euros to the national gross domestic product (GDP). Experts confirm that this is a type of activity, although the cruise passenger market is relatively small, given the predominance of the travel and tourism segment in general in constant growth and it is getting stronger as it has more and more attractions like new destinations and experiences.

Assessing the situation, the national director of the Cruise Lines International Association (CLIA), Alfredo SerranoIt argues that this strong progress is due to the fact that last year the sector continued to operate with “very significant” restrictions resulting from the pandemic.

summer record

Scottish He knows the industry well and thinks that after a summer of record temperatures – in fact temperatures are still very high in the Mediterranean – the consequences of climate change have not affected the increase in cruise bookings because they are produced with great progress and are a product that often sells before the summer. In fact, travel agencies are already trying to sell places for 2024 and 2025. It’s a very forward-looking business.

Companies have also observed huge growth in passenger numbers and turnover, as in the case of the Italian-Swiss MSC, one of the world’s largest cruise lines, according to Fernando Pacheco, general manager in Spain. In Spain, 40% and 50% compared to 2019.

Spain The number of cruise passengers exceeded 8,400,000 by the end of the third quarter of 2023This represents an increase of 56% compared to the same period in 2022, as confirmed in the latest statistical bulletin of the State Ports under the Ministry of Transport, Mobility and Urban Agenda. Mediterranean resorts attracted two-thirds of tourists in Spain. Barcelona is the undisputed leader. According to Puertos del Estado’s port traffic summary, a total of 431 cruise ships docked in Spanish ports last September (3,106 so far this year). The data collected shows that the majority of them landed in Barcelona (589), the Balearic Islands (571), Las Palmas (389) and Santa Cruz de Tenerife (317).

Economic impact

As a report from the Knowledge Transfer Laboratory of the University of Barcelona confirms, cruise tourists They spend an average of 230 Euros per person per day. Another study on the economic impact of the cruise industry, in this case conducted by the Valenciaport Foundation, reduces this expense somewhat and places it at somewhere between 270 and 300 people, depending on the number of cruise passengers landing in the port of Valencia. annual stops, around 150 euros.

It is noteworthy that the average age of passengers in Spain, who stay on the plane for an average of one week, is 43; This is two years below what was recorded before the pandemic and almost seven above the rest of the world’s 50-year age limit. By country, the largest number of foreign cruise passengers are from the USA (17% of the total), followed by the British (14%) and Germans (12%).

The galloping increase in the volume of cruise ships calling in Spain’s most touristic cities has also opened up the debate on sustainability and the need to promote the electrification of ports in order to reduce emissions of polluting gases as much as possible. Therefore, major ports accelerate terminals’ decarbonization plans. That’s why the Barcelona facility wants all its docks to be electrified by 2026 so cruise ships can connect to the network. Currently, one-fifth of its movements are powered by liquefied natural gas.

The Port of Valencia has also accelerated the electrification process of its docks with the award of the project to establish electrical connections to ships for the Transversal dock. Costa-MSC In the Valencia region. Additionally, the future Baleària passenger terminal will have piers with electrical outlets for ships docking at these facilities.

Some regions have already imposed restrictions on shipping companies to prevent traffic congestion at their terminals and tourists in cities.

Even so, leaders of cruise companies like Costa Cruises and Carnival 50% of the ship fleet is already pluggable They regret the slow process of electrification of European ports, including Spanish ports, when they switch to electricity upon arrival in port. It is worth noting that only thirty sites worldwide, or less than 2%, have clean energy facilities.

Another discussion on the table is the expansion of tourism caused by cruise passengers in some cities. For this reason, some port authorities, with the participation of representatives of the State and autonomous communities, are taking precautions against these risks. Thus, at the beginning of the year, the Administration of the Balearic Islands agreed with shipping companies on a calendar of days in the port of Palma for 2023 and 2024, without exception: Only three trips can overlap on the same day. And the huge influx of cruise passengers leads to an announcement to tourists who choose this model of holiday entertainment: “You can no longer go to the Alhambra in Granada, the Sagrada Familia in Barcelona, ​​the central market in Valencia or Larios in Málaga,” sources from the employers’ association CLIA “Because it doesn’t fit into the street,” he says.

Companies are increasing their smaller, luxury fleets to find special services for elite customers

During his participation in the Towards a New Cruise Tourism: Innovation and Sustainability conference organized by Hosteltur at the end of October, Rafael Fernández-Álava de la VegaDirector of Communications and External Relations of Costa Cruises Spain and Portugal emphasized that it is important to “deepen the need to look for active solutions for the distribution of cruise passengers in cities that prevent overcrowding through the use of technology and at the same time ingenuity and ingenuity.” above all public-private cooperation”.

New fashion

Smaller ships? Francesca Antonelli, head of cruises at the Port Authority of Valencia (APV), announced that a new and more sustainable trend is the growth of luxury cruises that carry fewer people but are within the reach of very few pockets. How are luxury cruises different from traditional cruises? Besides first-class services and gastronomy, trendy decoration and exceptional amenities, what distinguishes both segments is above all size of ships and number of people serves passengers. A five-anchor (or star) ship usually carries between 500 and 700 people. Classics accommodate between 2,000 and 3,000 people. This way cities won’t be so overwhelmed with tourists.

The ports of Barcelona, ​​Palma, Malaga, Alicante and Valencia have already supported initiatives in this direction. In fact, Seabourn Purtsuit, a ship of the American shipping company Seabourn, which is headquartered in Seattle (USA) and operates five high-end luxury ships, has been a blast in Spain this summer. Cruise passengers enjoy all kinds of entertainment water activities such as boating, diving, canoeing, jet skis and even mini submarines. Of course, we pay for tickets starting from a minimum of 3,200 Euros per person. The mentioned Mediterranean cities are now on the world map of maritime passenger transportation companies in this luxury market. Are they getting on board?