One of the lesser-known legacies of the Olympic Games was putting Barcelona on the map of cruise ships that sail the Mediterranean. Over the years, this activity has become a notable source of income for the city's economy. More than 800 calls were registered last year in the port of Barcelona, which occupies a leading position as a base port for these large ships. However, despite being a success story, or perhaps for that reason, cruise tourism has generated in a part of the citizenry a negative perception of its impact, especially in relation to the environment and tourist congestion.
With the aim of identifying more precisely the strengths and also the weaknesses of this booming tourist activity, La Vanguardia held a debate to listen to different points of view and find out where this sector is headed. The following participated in the session: Lluís Salvadó, president of the Port of Barcelona; Alfredo Serrano, director of the Cruise Lines International Association (CLIA) in Spain; Esther Vayá, professor of Applied Economics at the UB and researcher at AQR-Lab; Julián García, president of the Club Natació Atlètic-Barceloneta; and Mireia Torralba, owner of the Amaya restaurant.
The dialogue began by defining the profile of the cruise passenger who visits Barcelona. "You have to differentiate between the traveler who spends a few hours in the city and the one who embarks and disembarks, who usually stays several days and spends the night in a hotel," explained Esther Vayá, author of a study carried out in 2016 on the economic impact of this tourism in the Catalan capital. The professor assured that compared to the rest of the visitors "the average cruise tourist is 50 years old compared to approximately forty or less on vacation, and a higher purchasing power with a family income of more than 70,000 euros per year."
According to Vayá's research, "94% of those who stay several days in the city sleep in hotels and 80% of them do so in four or five star establishments." In the latter case, the researcher revealed that "they spend an average of 230 euros per person per day and their stay is 2.8 nights" . The restaurateur Mireia Torralba, for her part, confirmed that "she is a type of tourist who allows herself to be advised in the restaurant, likes to experience our gastronomy and, for all intents and purposes, he is a customer who is appreciated".
"Look more for cultural heritage and not for nightlife or the beach," says Alfredo Serrano, head of the international association of cruise lines in Spain. And another characteristic of this visitor is that, most likely, he comes from the United States. Serrano affirmed that “all North Americans dream of coming to Europe at some point in their lives, and more specifically of visiting Barcelona”. Many also “repeat”.
Beyond the economic impact from the consumption of cruise passengers on land, "we must take into account the cost of the crew, and especially that of the shipping company that purchases food, drinks, medical services, fuel and pays for the mooring, among other consumptions”, assured Vaya. According to the calculations made in 2016, the sum of the direct contribution of this activity in Catalonia was 620 million euros. If we add the indirect and induced impacts to this figure, "the amount was 1,083 million, of which 73% had a direct impact on the city of Barcelona".
For the port of Barcelona, one of the pillars of the city's economy, the cruise sector "accounts for 8% of our turnover," said Lluís Salvadó. The fact that these cruise ships choose Barcelona as their center of operations in the Mediterranean "is one of the strategic aspects in which we have been collaborating with the cruise lines for years, since it means consolidating our leadership against Rome." In this sense, the director of CLIA Spain pointed out that "at times, 58% of the ships that dock in Barcelona have their base here".
The effects of the boom in cruise tourism in Barcelona influence other strategic aspects for the development of the territory, such as the increase in air connections with the United States. Julián García recalls that "the arrival of North American cruise ships was the reason why these lines were established." In the opinion of the head of Atlètic-Barceloneta, who witnessed this whole process, "now the same story can be repeated with Asia, which is a market for the future".
Another relevant aspect of the economic impact of the city is that "we are the only means of transport that pays a tourist tax, an abnormal situation in Europe," Serrano said. The CLIA director added: "This year, cruise companies will pay 5.75 euros for each transit passenger, that is, for a visitor who spends hours in Barcelona." That amount will be 6.25 euros in 2024 when the City Council's surcharge on the tax comes fully into force. "Contrary to what happens with accommodation, this tax is being absorbed by shipping companies without passing it on to customers in most cases." For his part, Lluís Salvadó pointed out that "the collection for this concept in 2022 was 3.5 million euros and when the City Council finishes implementing it it will reach 6.3 million euros." The president of the port highlighted the importance of these contributions and insisted on the need to "continue working to achieve a better relationship between the city and the sector."
To move in this direction, it is crucial to address the environmental impact attributed to cruise ships. "We are aware of the criticism, but it does not correspond to reality," Serrano said. The representative of the cruise lines referred to the study on air quality led by Barcelona Regional in 2019. Based on it, the environment team of the Port Authority estimated that "the contribution of cruise ships to pollution by oxides of nitrogen present in Barcelona is 0.7%”. However, the manager clarified that "it is a figure that we would like to be zero and we are close to that being the case."
Moving forward on this path requires a double commitment between the cruise lines and the port of Barcelona. "If you want to be a leader in a market, you have to be in those elements that mean innovation, modernity and competitiveness," said Salvadó. The president of the port assured that "we are working with the shipping companies so that the cruises stop having an environmental impact when they arrive at our port." Salvadó highlighted that "part of the fleet is incorporating fuels such as Liquefied Natural Gas (LNG), as well as residual gas washing systems and SCR catalytic reduction systems similar to those found in diesel vehicles." The goal is “that in four or five years cruise ships and ferries can be connected to the electricity grid while in port, thus eliminating emissions.
"We want to lead this process of change," revealed the head of the port. In some cases, the results are already being produced, such as the consumption of drinking water by the ships that arrive at the port facility, an issue that in the current situation of drought acquires greater relevance. Salvadó revealed that "currently 80% of the ships that call at Barcelona no longer carry fresh water, since they are capable of producing it on board".
The president of the port referred to an initiative for the future "that makes me particularly excited" and that work is beginning now with the intention of making it a reality in a few years. Salvadó explained that "we are going to transform the organic waste generated by cruise ships and restaurants in the Port Vell area into biogas." Subsequently, the circular economy will be favored by "supplying these ships with this fuel."
On behalf of the companies in the sector, Alfredo Serrano assured that "it seeks to reach zero net carbon emissions by 2050." Along the same lines, the director of CLIA Spain, assured that 40% of cruise ships "are already prepared to turn off their engines and connect to the electricity grid in those ports where this possibility exists." At the moment, only about twenty port facilities in the world are prepared for this connectivity.
All in all, Serrano highlighted the collaboration between the cruise industry and the port of Barcelona around LNG as "the most emblematic case". “We have been working for a long time to use more ecological fuels, but it does not make sense to have the ships prepared if you cannot refuel later in the ports,” he explained. In the case of Barcelona, “the agreement with the port to use its excellent loading facilities for this fuel has allowed LNG-powered cruise ships to arrive first in Barcelona and then be imitated by other types of ships. The CLIA director said that "for this season and in Barcelona, we estimate that 35% of our fleet will be powered by LNG." Serrano stated that "we have been pioneers in this technology, which has contributed to making maritime transport more sustainable."
Another focus of criticism of cruise tourism has to do with its contribution to the problem of tourist congestion that the city suffers at certain times of the year. Lluís Salvadó considered this situation logical, if "we take into account that the city receives 56 million visitors a year and more than 32 million overnight stays". According to the president of the port, "the number of cruise passengers in 2022 was 2.3 million, a modest number compared to the 56 million visitors."
Expanding on the issue, Alfredo Serrano stressed that the cruise activity is distributed throughout the year. "The peaks of activity occur in May and October," said the representative of the sector. The summer months account for 35% of the total annual passenger movements; 10% are registered in the first quarter; 30% in the second and 25% in the fourth. Serrano assured that "the arrival of cruise passengers is becoming more diversified over time and there are a series of characteristics that give us room to delve deeper into this objective." The key is that "this is a tourism model that responds to a highly organized way of doing things and whose arrival and behavior is known well in advance." A factor that in the opinion of the head of CLIA "may allow the authorities to manage and guide the activity with our help."
Regarding the impact on Barceloneta and other neighborhoods of the city close to the port, Julián García explained that "there is a perception, less and less shared, that cruise passengers create many problems." On the other hand, in the opinion of the owner of the Amaya restaurant, "for citizens who are critical of this activity, the problem is not the cruise ship tourist, but the tourist in general."
Serrano stated that from the sector "we accept criticism and see it as an incentive to try to do things better." The person in charge of CLIA Spain considered that "we do not have the image we deserve, without a doubt we have to explain ourselves better and we assume that part of the responsibility corresponds to us". The manager assured that "in the sector we perceive Barcelona as our home, which is why we are financing the construction of two new terminals, within the agreement reached with the city council in 2018 that limits the total number of terminals to seven." Serrano added that "we want to work with local authorities to address the problems and move forward in their solution."
