Annual record in Barcelona's Port this Sunday with 32,000 cruise passengers
On Sunday 18th of May, the Port of Barcelona will register its highest passenger record in a single day this year with 31,600 people travelling in 1 of the 7 cruise ships docked in the city's harbour. "The city of Barcelona is, economically speaking, the great beneficiary from the arrival of cruise ships" in its harbour, stated Sixte Cambra, President of the Barcelona Port Authority. According to the organisation’s calculations, in a single day these tourists will spend €3.5 million in the city's local economy. Five of the seven cruise ships offer a turn-around service from Barcelona, which means that passengers start or end their sea journey in the Catalan capital. The two other boats are making a layover in the city.
Barcelona (ACN).- On Sunday 18th of May, the Port of Barcelona will register its highest passenger record in a single day this year with 31,600 people travelling in 1 of the 7 cruise ships docked in the city's harbour. "The city of Barcelona is, economically speaking, the great beneficiary from the arrival of cruise ships" in its harbour, stated Sixte Cambra, President of the Barcelona Port Authority. According to the organisations' calculations, in a single day these tourists will spend €3.5 million in the city's local economy. Five of the seven cruise ships offer a turn-around service from Barcelona, which means that passengers start or end their sea journey in the Catalan capital. The two other boats are making a layover in the city. Cambra explained that Sunday will not set the record regarding the number of ships, since on another day there will be up to 9 cruise ships docking. However, the boats docked this Sunday have a greater passenger capacity on average and therefore they bring more people.
On Sunday, the Port of Barcelona will welcome the Noordam, the Norwegian Spirit, the Norwegian Epic, the Liberty of the Seas and the Grand Holiday, which are the turn-around ones. The Louis Aura and the Aidablu will only make a layover in Barcelona and their passengers will continue their sea journey.
Barcelona is the world's 4th largest port for cruise ships
Sixte cambra emphasised that Barcelona's Port is "at a very high level in terms of hosting cruise ships", since it is the world's 4th largest harbour and the biggest in Europe and the Mediterranean. The three leading ports at international level are all in Florida, which is the base for cruise journeys through the Caribbean. However, Barcelona is becoming the main base for cruise ships making a trip around the Mediterranean. Evidence of this is that, of the 7 boats docked in the Catalan capital's harbour on Sunday, 5 of them are turn-around, which means they start or end their trip in Barcelona.
A 14% increase in passengers in the first quarter of 2014 on 2013 figures
Cambra emphasised that the Port will be working "to consolidate this position at world level" in the years to come. "We are very satisfied with the evolution of cruise ships, a traffic segment that has become strategic for our harbour", stated Cambra. "In the first quarter of the year, the number of cruise ship passengers increased by 14% compared to 2013 figures, a fact that contributes to consolidate [the initiative to have cruise ships] all the year round, fostered by the Port", said Cambra.
"Cruise ship traffic, particularly the turn-around ones, represents an important contribution to the tourism sector and, therefore, to the city's economy and Catalonia's", said the Port Authority's President. On many occasions, the passengers starting or ending their sea trip in Barcelona also spend an extra day or few days in the city or in another part of Catalonia, explained Cambra. According to calculations from the Barcelona Tourism Board, each turn-around passenger spend an average of 114 euros in the city each day and each layover passenger spends 61 euros on average. In addition, the cruise ship staff who arrive in Barcelona also contribute to the city's local economy with some 30 euros per day each on average. According to these figures, the 31,600 passengers arriving on Sunday will generate a 3.5 million turnover, without taking into account the money coming into the harbour (terminal fees, cruise ship providers, etc.).
In order to offer the smoothest experience possible, the Port, the City Council, local police and Barcelona El Prat Airport all work together. One of the services offered is checking in the bags for their flight back home already at the cruise ship terminal, or the reverse, receiving their bags on board straight from the airport. However, this service is only applicable to some boats. "The cooperation between the City Council, the Airport, the security bodies and the rest of the people involved in the cruise ship operations is essential in order to guarantee a good service for the passengers" explained Cambra.