Barcelona to shut cruise ports to bring down tourism
Under the €185m (£160m) plan agreed between the Spanish city and port authorities, two terminals are to be demolished and a third rebuilt for public use. That will slash the number of passengers the port can handle at any one time by 6,000 to 31,000 by the end of the decade.
Following the reduction in capacity, priority will be given to ships departing from Barcelona, usually staffed by locals, rather than those just visiting in order to maximise benefits for the economy.
Jaume Collboni, Barcelona's Left-wing mayor, said the deal was struck after the port showed 'understanding and empathy' in accepting that the expansion of cruise activity could not carry on unchecked and had to be reduced.
He said: 'For the first time in its history, a limit is being placed on the growth of cruise ships in the city. The current management of tourism involves establishing limits.'
It comes after protesters took to Barcelona's streets last month as part of the biggest anti-tourism rally in its history. It was the culmination of months of anger at overcrowding and high prices in the city.
Protesters last year sprayed visitors with water pistols to highlight what they saw as the swarming of the city.
Cruise vessels are reviled in some tourist hotspots for flooding streets with visitors who spend little before returning to their ship.
While moves to ban them have become commonplace, Barcelona is going a step further by shrinking its port infrastructure to keep them away.
The number of ships visiting Europe's busiest cruise port has surged over the past six years and jumped by a fifth between January and May, bringing in 1.2m people.
Under the latest plans, a 2,000ft length of quayside will be renovated, while the bridge to the cruise terminals will be doubled to provide space for cyclists and pedestrians.
Hookups to the power grid will also be provided so that ships do not have to use their diesel engines in port.
José Alberto Carbonell, president of the Port of Barcelona, said the agreement would permit the 'sustainable development of cruise activity'.
He said that while smaller, the resulting facilities will be amongst the most modern in the world and better able to act as a base for cruise ships, boosting local employment.
Barcelona, which has a population of 1.7m, or 5m across its metropolitan area, attracted 3.7m cruise-ship passengers last year. Miami, the busiest cruise port in the world, handled a record 8.2m.
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