The Balearic Islands' public institutions and private sector have agreed to collaborate on a joint strategic plan to develop cruise tourism sustainably and for the benefit of the islands' economy. This decision was reached at a meeting held at the headquarters of the Mallorca Chamber of Commerce, organized by the Balearic Islands Port Authority (APB) and the Cruise Lines International Association (CLIA).
This meeting was attended by about 50 people from different sectors related to tourism in the islands, including institutional representatives such as the Vice President and Minister of Tourism of the Government of the Balearic Islands, Gabriel Barceló, the President of the Island Council of Ibiza, Vicente Torres, and the Councilor for Tourism of the Palma City Council, Joana Adrover.
Private companies were represented by shipping companies such as Pullmantur, Aida, Carnival or MSC, tour operators such as TUI, hotel associations from Playa de Palma and Alcúdia, the Provincial Association of Businessmen of Maritime Activities Baleares APEAM, the Mallorca Restaurant Association, taxi associations, etc.
They have all been able to jointly analyze for almost five hours the social and economic impact of cruises and have agreed on one main objective: to strengthen the tourism product that cruise tourism represents in a sustainable way.
The president of the Balearic Port Authority (APB), Joan Gual de Torrella, emphasized that cruises are a complementary product to the Balearic Islands' tourism offerings, benefiting the islands' entire economy. The vice president of the Balearic Islands Government and Minister of Tourism, Gabriel Barceló, echoed this sentiment, expressing his support for the sector and stressing the need for it to be a sustainable tourism product, "from two perspectives": the environmental one and the need to regulate passenger flow collectively.
The president of CLIA Spain, Alfredo Serrano, also pointed out that “regions like the Balearic Islands are fundamental for the development of the cruise industry with ports like Palma, one of the most important in Europe, and other ports in the archipelago that have grown a lot in recent years and have great growth potential.”.
The Balearic ports managed by the APB are the third in the Mediterranean in terms of cruise passenger numbers – with almost two million – and are second in terms of the number of port calls recorded in 2015, with almost 790, only behind the Italian port of Civitavecchia.
