The agreement acknowledges that maritime tourism is an economic sector with a significant weight in the city, but specifies that it requires planning and management measures, just as is already happening in other tourism sectors .
The Barcelona City Council and the Port of Barcelona have signed an agreement to reorganize cruise activity and render it more sustainable. This will reduce the number of cruise terminals at the Port of Barcelona and make way for a series of projects to improve passenger mobility and make it more sustainable, responsible management of cruises, and improve the co-existence between port activity and the city.
There will be a reduction in the number of cruise terminals from seven to five by demolishing current terminals A, B, and C, and building a new terminal on the site of terminal C. This new terminal will be public – it will be open to general use with capacity to serve 7,000 passengers at any given time. In addition to this reorganization and progressive reduction in the number of terminals, there will be a comprehensive overhaul of a 610-metre-long section of wharf, corresponding to current terminals A and B, to which end the Port of Barcelona will invest €50 million.
This will make the Port’s cruise facilities some of the most modern and sustainable globally, offering the essential quality of service to accommodate home port operations, which provides the most added value to the city, and has better airport connectivity. Moreover, the transformation will configure the Adossat wharf with five cruise terminals – four are privately owned (current terminals D, E, G, and H), and one will be public (the new terminal C). All will meet the most demanding quality and sustainability standards.
Home Port Cruises – A Priority
The new terminal, as per the press release, will prioritize home port cruises and small vessels. The agreement with the City Council accelerates the Port’s timetable to renovate the oldest terminals, A, B, and C – which are nearing the end of their useful life, and to build new facilities that are better suited to the current requirements of the cruise industry. The wharf overhaul will facilitate the installation of the onshore power supply (OPS) systems for connecting ships to the electrical grid, supplying them with green energy so that they can turn off their engines and avoid emissions from their operations.
Jose Alberto Carbonell, President of the Port of Barcelona, said the signed protocol culminates the modernization plan for the Adossat Wharf, which began a few years ago with the goal of upgrading port infrastructure and strengthening the competitiveness of the Port. “This new phase includes the demolition of three old terminals and the construction of a new state-of-the-art terminal; the rehabilitation of the wharf and the incorporation of OPS electrification systems, as well as improvements to access mobility through the expansion of the Port d’Europa bridge.”
He highlighted that these actions represent a public-private investment of €185 million, which adds to the investments made under the 2018 agreement, and confirms Port of Barcelona’s commitment to the sustainable development of cruise activity.
Maritime Tourism
Jaume Collboni, the Mayor of Barcelona, said that for the first time in history, a limit is being placed on the growth of cruises in the city. He thanked the Port of Barcelona for its effort in understanding and empathy in recognizing that the growth of this activity cannot be infinite, and needs to be reduced. Collboni highlighted the period 2018 to 2024, wherein the number of cruise passengers increased by 20 percent, since the last protocol signed between the Port and the City Council did not set capacity limits. “The current management of tourism involves setting limits and managing better.”
Furthermore, the agreement acknowledges that maritime tourism is an economic sector with a significant weight in the city, but specifies that it requires planning and management measures, just as is already happening in other tourism sectors such as accommodation, mobility, public spatial planning, or taxation. It consolidates the joint commitment of both the Port and the City Council to move towards a more orderly and efficient maritime tourism model that respects the urban and environmental setting of Barcelona.
