Authorities in a popular Spanish city are set to demolish three cruise terminals amid pressure from locals over tourism pressures, in a major blow to British holidaymakers. The Port of Barcelona currently has nine terminals, seven of which are cruise ship terminals.
But in recent years, concerns have grown over the number of cruise ships docking there, and the pressures exerted on Barcelona by them bringing millions of visitors to the city every year. The governing bodies of Catalonia have now decided to take action, with plans for the three oldest terminals (A, B, and C) to be torn down. A new state-of-the-art terminal will be built where terminal C is currently located, scheduled to open by the end of the decade. The new one will have the capacity to handle around 7,000 passengers at a time.
However, the overrall capacity of the city’s port terminals will drop from around 37,000 to 31,000 per day under the €185m (£160m) plan, as reported by EuroWeekly News.
The announcement follows an agreement this week between port authority and city hall, Reuters reports.
Announcing the agreement, Barcelona mayor Jaume Collboni said: “For the first time in history, limits are being placed on the growth of cruise ships in the city.”
Authorities hope the move will also provide better public access to the port terminals. The city is also reportedly pumping €50 million into building new facilities in the section where A and B are currently located.
Under a new approach, priority will be given to cruise lines starting and ending in the city, rather than vessels making short stop overs, as per EU Today.
It’s hoped this will help remedy crowding in particularly impacted parts of Barcelona and enourage visitors to stay for longer, upping per capita expenditure in the city’s economy.
According to official data, the travel hotspot saw a 21% surge in cruise vessel calls as well as a 20% uptick in passengers to 1.2 million people in January-May this year compared to the same period last year, Reuters reports.
Locals have long voiced concern over the impact of cruises on the city and its environment.
It comes after further anti-overtourism demonstrations were held in Barcelona last month, with protesters continuing to organise marches against what they see as excessive levels of foreign visitors, something they say is having an unsustainable impact on the cost of living and housing.
Authorities have launched various measures to address their concerns, including plans to ban short-term apartment rentals to tourists by the end of 2028.