Saturday 29th May 2021
Another branch relieved
Spanish ports open to cruise ships
Cruise tourism, which is so important for Spain, has been suffering for almost a year due to pandemic restrictions. It is now known when international cruise ships will be allowed to dock again at Spanish ports. Tens of thousands of families should be relieved – and no, that doesn’t mean the vacationers.
After almost a year, international cruise ships will be allowed to dock again in Spanish ports from June 7th. The ban on berthing, imposed on June 23 last year due to the pandemic, will be suspended due to the good development of the corona situation in Europe, said the Spanish Ministry of Transport in Madrid. According to the announcement, the ships will have to meet strict health requirements, which will soon be published in detail.
The reason given for the re-admission of the international cruise was given that most of the passengers on the ships calling at the Spanish ports came from Europe – a region in which there has been great progress in vaccinations and in which the number of infections has been falling for weeks.
Cruise tourism is very important for Spain and especially for holiday regions such as the Balearic Islands with Mallorca or the Canary Islands, but also for metropolises such as Barcelona or Valencia. Before the outbreak of the pandemic, the record number of almost 10.7 million people streamed into the Spanish cities in 2019. Within just five years, this number had risen by around three million passengers or just under 40 percent. According to the sector, the cruise in Spain generated revenues of 2.8 billion euros and around 50,000 jobs in 2019.
The news is “a relief for the more than 50,000 families who depend on our industry,” said Alfredo Serrano, head of the International Association of Cruise Lines (CLIA), the regional newspaper “Diario de Mallorca”.
For German Whitsun vacationers from Bavaria and Baden-Württemberg, whose children do not have to return to class until June 7th, the date barely opens up any short-term vacation options. They too have to wait for the summer vacation.
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