The enclave will receive 14 ships on their first call this year and will increase the number of turnaround passengers.
The Port of Barcelona expects to receive around 2.6 million cruise passengers in 2016. These passengers will arrive on the 750 cruise ship calls of the 40 shipping companies that operate in the Port, practically all the companies dedicated to this sector that sail in the Mediterranean.
This year, the Port of Barcelona also expects to receive more turnaround (those who begin and end their itinerary in the Catalan capital), in line with the growth experienced by this type of cruise passenger in 2015, when they increased by 11.5%. As highlighted by the Deputy Director General of Strategy and Commercial, Santiago Garcia-Milà, during the press conference held at Seatrade Cruise Global 2016, these passengers make the greatest contribution to the economy of the city and the surrounding area. “According to the Economic Impact Study of Cruise Activity at the Port of Barcelona, presented last year by the University of Barcelona, the turnaround who stays overnight in the city spends €202 per day,” Garcia-Milà noted.
On the other hand, the presence of the Norwegian Epic (Norwegian Cruise Line's largest ship) in Barcelona during the winter months will help increase the number of cruise passengers visiting the Catalan capital outside of peak season. This ship joins vessels from companies like Costa and MSC, which have been offering winter cruise routes from Barcelona for years, thus helping to break the seasonality associated with this type of tourism.
Among the trends for this year is also a greater presence of luxury or high-end cruise ships in the Port of Barcelona. Some of the most notable include the Viking Ocean and Viking Seas, from Viking Cruises; the Sirena, from Oceania Cruises, which will be inaugurated in the Catalan capital on April 27; Le Lyrial, from the French company Ponant; and the Seven Seas Explorer, the new ship from Regent Seven Seas.
On the other hand, shipping companies are betting on positioning their best or newest ships in Barcelona, as demonstrated by the arrival of the Koningsdam and Oosterdam ships from Holland America; the MeinSchiff 4 and MeinSchiff 5 from the German company TUI; and the Jewel of the Seas from Royal Caribbean.
In addition, the Catalan port will receive 14 cruise ships making their maiden calls, some of which will be new to the market. These are, in order of arrival, the ships Koningsdam, Mein Schiff 4, Viking Ocean, Sirena, Jewel of the Seas, Carnival Vista, Oosterdam, Harmony of the Seas, Thomson Discovery, Seven Seas Explorer, Mein Schiff 5, Norwegian Star, Le Lyrial, and Viking Seas.
Construction of the new Cruise Terminal E, to be built and operated by Carnival Corporation, is also scheduled to begin in 2016. With an investment of €30 million, the world's leading cruise operator will build the largest cruise terminal in Europe, spanning 10,000 square meters, in the Port of Barcelona. This will be Carnival's second terminal in the Catalan capital (it currently also operates Palacruceros) and its seventh in the Port of Barcelona.
The Port of Barcelona delegation is promoting the Catalan capital's cruise services and facilities at SeatradeCruise Global (Fort Lauderdale). This is the world's leading cruise industry trade show. Last year's edition attracted over 11,000 attendees from more than 125 countries.
