The same business and different scenarios. In focus, cruise tourism, of which the employers’ association Foment del Treball has proposed to address its “lights and shadows” this morning in a colloquium in which Barcelona was not present but Palamós and Tarragona were, two destinations in which the administration and the private sector go hand in hand to get the most out of an activity that they want to see grow. They also sat at the table of Foment Intercruises and MSC World Europa, whose general director did refer to Barcelona, ??in its commitment to the city, in the possibility of growing out of season and in the necessary collaboration with the administration to reduce negative impacts .
“It is essential that the tourism sector and the administration continue working to implement practices that minimize the effects on the environment,” said Miquel Gotanegra, president of the Comissió de Turisme de Foment, after insisting on “the importance and potential for economic development of the cruise tourism. Silvia Romero, head of the Palamós City Council’s Department of Economic Promotion and Tourism, and Marta Farrero, director of the Tarragona Provincial Council’s Tourism Board, boasted of this public-private collaboration. This administration has been a part, for more than a decade, of the Cruise Board “in which city councils, institutions, Port Aventura, the URV and other entities work with the port to promote cruises, which helps us to diversify our offer and seasonally adjust it ”.
In Palamós, the complicity between Ports de la Generalitat, town halls and tourist boards has led to the creation of the Costa Brava Cruise Ports brand to promote itself. Both destinations are working to gain market share. Tarragona, reinforcing its weight as a base port: “Our objective is to ensure that the economic impact grows; in 2022, 28% of cruise passengers extended their stay and in 2019 23% had done so”, Farrero pointed out. In Palamós, a port of call, the objective is to retain cruise passengers in the area with a catalog of excursions and experiences that are increasingly unique and exclusive, “they are tourists who are very interested in culture and gastronomy, we want them to act as prescribers and that they come back”, said Silvia Romero.
The magnitude of the figures in both cases has little to do with the reality of Barcelona. While Tarragona plans to receive 58 cruise ships this year (with some 118,000 tourists on board) and Palamós, 56 (with smaller ships and 56,000 passengers), in Barcelona the forecasts are for 830 cruise ships this year. In July alone, 78 ships will arrive in the city.
The academic director of the UB Chair of Tourism, Hospitality and Gastronomy CETT, Eugeni Osácar, in charge of conducting the colloquium, presented the speakers with challenges such as “managing to increase the economic and social return in the cities and territories involved and, at the same time, reduce negative impacts, both at the environmental level and the use of public space”. In this regard, the general director of MSC World Europe, Fernando Pacheco, highlighted that “until the summer of 2024 our most sustainable ship, MSC World Europe, will embark and disembark in the city every week” and explained that they hope to open its terminal in 2024 own cruise ship “which will be at the forefront of sustainability”. Regarding the growth of activity in the city, he placed it out of season, “now we have four boats a week in summer and two in winter”.
Anja Wilde, from Intercruise, cited other ways to minimize the impact of overcrowding in Barcelona by promoting unique excursions outside the city “and with simple things like varying the excursion schedules to emblematic sites that everyone wants to visit like the Sagrada Família on Park Güell and the Gòtic”. Among the options to improve the image of the sector, Nuria Aparicio, general director of the Barcelona Oberta merchants association, suggested “better explaining the economic impact of this industry at all levels. For example, where do they buy fruit and vegetables? We are not explaining that well.”
