Cruise ship blow as Spain tears down three terminals amid tourism row

Three cruise ship terminals are to be ripped down in Barcelonafollowing mounting pressure from locals.

Officials in the beloved Spanish destination have decided to scale back the port's cruise ship capacity after years of campaigners arguing that boatloads of passengers are adding unbearable strain to the city. Barcelona's port currently boasts nine terminals, with seven dedicated to cruise ships.

Catalonian governing authorities have now chosen to act, with proposals to demolish the three most dated terminals (A, B, and C). A cutting-edge terminal will be constructed at Terminal C's existing site, due to launch by the decade's close. The replacement facility will accommodate approximately 7,000 passengers simultaneously.

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Nevertheless, the port's overall daily capacity will fall from roughly 37,000 to 31,000 under the €185m (£160m) scheme, according to EuroWeekly News. The revelation comes after this week's agreement between the port authority and the city council.

Barcelona mayor Jaume Collboni declared: "For the first time in history, limits are being placed on the growth of cruise ships in the city." Officials anticipate the measure will also improve public access to the port facilities. The city is also reportedly investing €50 million in constructing fresh amenities where terminals A and B currently stand."

According to EU Today, under the new strategy, cruise lines that begin and conclude their journeys in the city will receive preference over those making brief stopovers. The aim is to alleviate overcrowding in particularly affected areas of Barcelona and encourage tourists to extend their stay, thereby boosting per capita spending within the city's economy.

Official figures reveal that the travel hotspot experienced a 21% increase in cruise ship visits and a 20% rise in passengers to 1.2 million people from January to May this year, compared to the same period last year.

Residents have long expressed concerns about the impact of cruises on both the city and its environment. Responsible Travel recently explained why Barcelona, in particular, has suffered from cruise ship tourism.

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"Barcelona has the Mediterranean’s largest port, for example, which makes it a prime spot for huge cruise ships. In 1990, just 115,000 cruise passengers arrived in Barcelona. By 2017, that figure stood at 2.7 million, arriving into one of nine cruise terminals. The city was the home port for Allure of the Seas in 2015, at the time the world’s largest cruise ship with a maximum capacity of just under 6,500 passengers. And in 2019, Barcelona (along with Palma) earned the unwanted title of most polluted port in Europe," the publication wrote.

"Overtourism is not just about too many people, however. When it comes to Barcelona, the issue is that they are all arriving at once. Of the 32 million annual visitors, around half are day trippers; this will include most of the cruise passengers. Spending just a few hours in the city, visitors have a limited radius and will tick off the same few places: La Rambla, the Sagrada Familia, Parc Güell, La Boqueria market."

In his 2016 paper on Managing Tourism in Barcelona, Dr Harold Goodwin described the arrival of cruise ship passengers as feeling like “a tidal wave.”

Last month, there was another tranche of anti-overtourism protests in Barcelona, with demonstrators continuing to organise marches against what they perceive as excessive numbers of foreign visitors. They argue this is having an unsustainable effect on living costs and housing.

In response to these concerns, authorities have introduced various measures, including plans to prohibit short-term apartment rentals to tourists by the end of 2028.