- It will be 'the best September in the port's history', welcoming approximately 75,000 people who will arrive in the city by sea, and who will spend around 4.4 million euros in Vigo.
- In the last five years, the Port of Vigo has received 1.5 million tourists, which represents 84 million euros in revenue for Vigo.
- López-Chaves: 'It is undeniable that this sector is good for the city of Vigo, so I don't understand the boycott by Abel Caballero's government of the second cruise terminal.'.
Once again, the Port of Vigo will be present at the 'Seatrade Europe Cruise Shipping Convention', which will take place in Hamburg (Germany) from tomorrow, Wednesday, until next Friday, September 11.
According to a press conference given by the President of the Vigo Port Authority, Ignacio López-Chaves, the institution he heads will have an institutional presence in up to three stands: the State Ports stand, with a generic and common stand for Spanish ports, as well as those of Atlantic Alliance, an exclusive marketing project to which Vigo belongs with 15 other European ports from Central and Western Europe, and Cruise Europe, an entity that brings together more than 100 ports from Northern, Central and Western Europe.
The Port Authority's stands will also be used by shipping agents and Vigo's most frequent tour operators. Furthermore, Vigo will participate in the official events organized by the Atlantic Alliance. Also noteworthy are the activities of the powerful European port association Cruise Europe, which will hold management meetings in which the Port Authority will actively participate, given its membership on the Council, as well as several social events for networking.
There will be no promotion of the 2nd terminal
In Hamburg, the Vigo Port Authority will maintain a busy schedule of meetings with the most important shipping companies worldwide, where the Vigo delegation, headed by its President, will present the infrastructure of the Vigo Port dedicated to cruise traffic, in which, in recent years, around 10 million euros have been invested.
However, as the top port official had already stated, despite this being an ideal opportunity, 'Vigo will not be able to present its second cruise terminal. It won't be possible because Abel Caballero's government doesn't want it in Vigo,' he lamented.
As he recalled, the institution he heads has simply followed the opinions of the legal services of the Vigo City Council and the municipal government itself. "Four years ago they said one thing, and now they say another," he noted, referring to the approval of the Land Use Plan and the partial modification of the Port's Special Plan, which the City Council demanded in 2010 as a condition for carrying out the planned works in the old fruit warehouses.
"I highly doubt the Mayor of Porto ever opposed the Leixões Terminal. However, in Vigo, some people seem bothered by cruise traffic," he complained. "We won't be able to present our second cruise terminal in Hamburg as planned. We will present the Port and the incentives for this traffic, but our flagship project—referring to this second terminal—won't be possible, while Porto will present its terminal." On the contrary, he asserted, in Vigo "they won't let us continue investing." "We hope they reconsider, since we are doing what they told us to do four years ago.".
The best September in the history of the Port
Furthermore, López-Chaves referred to the "excellent" figures recorded by the Port of Vigo regarding this traffic. He asserted that it will be "the best September in the port's history," with approximately 75,000 people arriving in the city by sea. Of the total number of tourists visiting this month, 90% will be international, making the Vigo port a "gateway for international tourism.".
But the data handled by the Port Authority for this month also suggests that in a single month, more visitors will arrive in Vigo than in the entire years of 1999, 1998, and 1997, "even more than in all of 2001," López-Chaves emphasized. "More cruise passengers will arrive in Vigo by sea in a single month than in five years.".
This massive influx of visitors will also have a clear economic impact. According to a study by the University of Vigo, the approximately 75,000 people expected to visit us this month will spend around €4.4 million in the city.
López-Chaves also pointed out that, in the last five years, the Port of Vigo has received 1.5 million tourists, of which about 96% are foreigners, which represents approximately 84 million euros in spending.
'It is undeniable that this sector is good for the city of Vigo, which, year after year, continues to be the leader in cruise passenger traffic throughout the northwest of the Iberian Peninsula, so I do not understand the boycott of the second terminal by the Government of Abel Caballero,' he concluded.
