cruise travellers

World's largest cruise ship begins operating from Barcelona, its base for the summer season

May 19, 2015 09:32 PM | ACN

The 'Allure of the Seas' is going to be based in the Catalan capital for the entire summer season, from where it will start and end 25 trips. At 362 metres long, it is the world's largest cruise ship, and the equivalent to 4 football pitches. Measuring 66 metres across, it is able to transport more than 6,300 tourists and 2,380 staff. It has 16 docks and 2,700 cabins. This Tuesday, it is starting its first trip of the season from the Catalan capital. During the summer season, it is expected to transport 157,000 passengers, who will have an economic impact of €17 million on Barcelona's local economy, according to Royal Caribbean's General Manager for Spain and France, Belén Wangüement. Then, the boat will travel to the Caribbean Sea, where it will spend its winter season. The President of Barcelona's Port Authority, Sixte Cambra, hopes to improve last year's cruise liner figures and exceed the 2.5 million mark this year.

Cruise ships reach ports in cities around Catalonia beyond Barcelona

November 18, 2014 09:57 PM | ACN / Nell English

Beyond Barcelona, other port cities in Catalonia that are also cruise ship destinations are closing the 2014 season with positive results. The Ports of Palamós and Roses in Girona’s Costa Brava (northern Catalonia), and that of Sant Carles de la Ràpita in the Ebro Delta (south of Tarragona Province) will be closing this season having brought a total of 43,000 passengers on 50 cruise ships. This will have generated a total of €3 million for the local economy. The Port of Palamós has had its second best season in history with 38,616 passengers and 36 cruises. The Port of Roses closed the season in October with 10 cruise ships bringing a total of 3,700 passengers, while that of Sant Carles de la Ràpita brought a total of 4 ships and half a thousand passengers to the region. The city of Tarragona, which received approximately 2,000 passengers in 2013, is hoping to double these figures for 2014. Moreover, the Port Authority of Tarragona is planning to build a new terminal over the next four years, with a goal of bringing 40,000 or 50,000 passengers per year when completed.

Barcelona International Boat Show opens from 15 to 19 October, anticipated to be its most successful yet

October 15, 2014 09:13 PM | ACN

Barcelona will be hosting the International Boat Show 2014, between the 15th and the 19th of October. The 54th Edition of the Show is expected to be the most successful yet, and organizers are confident it will show that the marine industry has left the crisis behind for the first time in 7 years. The Port of Barcelona is the perfect location for such an event, and is a significant contributor to the Catalan economy. An exhibition of both commercial and recreational marine vessels, organizers expect high levels of participation and sales. One of the highlights of the exhibition will be Lehr and Nautigas, maker of the innovative engine that runs on propane, leading the way in environmentally-friendly vessels. Among the show’s 19 facilities there will also be organic fuels on display, with explanations of both their environmental and financial benefits.  

Barcelona is hosting the main event of the world's cruise ship industry, focused on the Mediterranean

September 17, 2014 08:17 PM | ACN

This week, the Port of Barcelona has become the world cruise capital, hosting the Seatrade Med 3000, an international conference bringing together 3,000 professionals from the all around the world. It is the leading conference in the field of Mediterranean cruise and is taking place between the 16th and 18th of September. This adds to Barcelona’s existing reputation as the European and Mediterranean cruise capital, confirmed with the arrival last Saturday of the world’s largest cruise liner, the Oasis of the Seas, whose first stop after leaving the Caribbean was the Catalan city. Home both to the Oasis of the Seas and the international Seatrade Med 3000 means Barcelona is making nautical headlines worldwide.  

Barcelona's Circuit gay and lesbian festival to exceed last year's 71,000 participants

August 7, 2014 09:00 PM | ACN

From the 6th-17th August, Barcelona hosts the 7th edition of Circuit Festival, an international event directed towards gay, lesbian, bisexual and transsexual people. The aim of this edition is to promote the festival as an "international meeting point", since 80% of last year's 71,000 participants came from abroad. Furthermore, Barcelona will profit from the €100 million that Circuit attendees bring to the local economy.  The organisers of the festival have prepared more than 50 events for its audiences to enjoy. The main party will take place on Tuesday 12th August at the Illa Fantasia waterpark in Vilassar de Dalt, a town around 20km north of Barcelona city.Both the event's organisers and local hotel owners expect even more attendees at the festival this year.

Exports from the Port of Barcelona increase by 63% from pre-crisis levels registered in 2008

July 18, 2014 08:36 PM | ACN

63% more exports have been channelled through the Port of Barcelona during the first six months of 2014 than in the same period of 2008, prior to the economic crisis. On Friday, the President of Barcelona Port Authority, Sixte Cambra, announced that 2014 will be the year of record sums of exports and imports from the Catalan port. The Port finished the first half of 2014 with 22.5 million tons of goods transported, representing an increase of 7% compared with the same period of 2013. Cambra said that growth occurred in all cargo sections of the port, driven by foreign trade, especially exports.

Barcelona is among world's top 10 places to do business and first European city for shopping tourism

July 15, 2014 04:55 PM | ACN

Barcelona has gone from 22nd to 7th place in the list of 468 European cities with the best economic prospects; it is ranked the 19th most competitive city in the world and the 10th in Europe; it stands at 10th in the world in terms of receiving new business investments; and it became the 4th city hosting the largest amount of congresses at world level. The report was produced by the Chamber of Commerce of Barcelona in collaboration with the City Council. Furthermore, another study compiled by ESADE business school stressed that Barcelona is the 1st European city in money spent per tourist in shopping, ahead of London and Paris. The Mayor of Barcelona, ??Xavier Trias, welcomed the news but also emphasised the ''shadow'' of having more than 100,000 unemployed in Barcelona, a number he finds “unbearable.”

Annual record in Barcelona's Port this Sunday with 32,000 cruise passengers

May 16, 2014 09:48 PM | 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 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 Port increases goods traffic by 9% in the first quarter of 2014

April 15, 2014 05:59 PM | ACN

The Port of Barcelona handled 10.7 million tons of goods during the first 3 months of 2014, which represents a 9% increase on the same period last year. Between January and March, all the types of transported goods posted a significant growth, and the same trend applies to the traffic of passengers, which grew by 9%. In the first quarter of the year, the number of vehicles transported grew by 5%, as did the number of containers, which reached 428,720 TEU. Container imports increased by 7% and exports by 3%. Container exports grew particularly to countries such as China (+31%), the United States (+17%), Morocco (+35%) and Mexico (+87%). The traffic of bulk liquids increased by 24%, particularly diesel and other fuel, as well as chemical products.

World’s largest cruise ship to be based in Barcelona and offer 25 routes in 2015

February 25, 2014 08:50 PM | ACN

The ‘Allure of the Seas’, which is currently the largest cruise ship in the world, will operate from 2015 onwards from the Port of Barcelona. Next year, it will offer 25 different routes from or to the Catalan capital. For each trip, the ‘Allure of the Seas’, which belongs to Royal Caribbean, welcomes 6,318 passengers on board. Due to the considerable size of the boat - 361 meters long - passengers will access and exit the facilities through two terminals of Barcelona’s Harbour. Royal Caribbean stated that the 158,000 passengers expected to travel on all 25 routes will bring €17.5 million to Barcelona’s local economy each year. It will be the first time the ‘Allure of the Seas’, which currently operates in the Caribbean, will drop anchor in a European harbour.

Catalonia welcomed 15.6 million foreign tourists in 2013

January 21, 2014 07:07 PM | ACN

In 2013, Catalonia was the first tourist destination in Spain. It received15.6 million foreign visitors, meaning 25.7 % of the total number of international tourists in Spain (one in four). The figure represents an 8% increase over the previous year. The Balearic Islands were in second place, welcoming over 11 million tourists (18.3%), a 7.2% increase. The Catalan Minister for Business and Employment, Felip Puig, stressed that tourist spending also increased significantly, generating €14.2 billion in 2013, that is to say 14% more than the previous year. At Spanish level, the number of foreign visitors reached a new record: Spain welcomed 60.6 million tourists in 2013, making it the third favourite travel destination in the world, behind France and the United States.

Carnival Corporation, the world’s main cruise ship company, to invest €20 million in a new terminal in Barcelona

September 27, 2013 10:18 PM | ACN

The Port of Barcelona will have a new terminal for Carnival cruise ships by 2016. The US company announced on Friday that it will invest €20 million to build a terminal capable of serving ‘post panamax’ cruise ships. These boats can transport 4,500 passengers in ‘turnaround’ operations, which means starting and ending the trip in Barcelona. The new facility will have an area of 10,000 square metres. It will be called Terminal E and located at Barcelona harbour’s Adossat Dock. Carnival Corporation explained that the investment aims to adapt to the sector’s future needs, which point towards larger boats. With this investment, Barcelona strengthens its position as Europe’s and the Mediterranean Sea’s main centre for cruise ships, being also the world’s fourth largest port for this industry.

Barcelona consolidates its position as the world’s 4th largest cruise ship port

August 9, 2013 09:56 PM | ACN

The Catalan capital is the world’s 4th main port for the cruise ship industry, with the first 3 one being all in Florida. This means that Barcelona is the most important port in Europe and the Mediterranean Sea in terms of the amount of cruise ship passengers it receives. After a small decline in 2012, this year the Catalan capital is expecting to repeat its all time record from 2011, with more than 2.6 million cruise passengers. Furthermore, the cruise ship industry is increasingly using other Catalan harbours, such as Roses and Palamós. This week, for the first time ever, two large cruise ships docked at Palamós at the same time. In addition, this weekend is one of the busiest for Barcelona’s port, with 15 cruise ships docking in its harbour, transporting a total of 55,000 passengers.