The 2017 cruise season begins at the Port of Palamós, with 39 planned calls that will bring around 38,000 passengers, a figure that exceeds the previous year's figure by more than 50%.
Of these 39 stops, 22 will be from luxury vessels and 17 from standard category, and this year the cruise ships Albatros, Aida Aura, Seabourn Encore, Seven Seas Voyager, Sirena, Island Sky and Oriana will visit the Port of Palamós for the first time.
The president of Ports de la Generalitat, Ricard Font, has announced that this campaign will also help to reduce the seasonality of tourism in the region, as the peak cruise season this year will be September and October, and the season will be extended, for the first time, until November 2nd. September is expected to have nine cruise ship calls and October eight, according to forecasts.
Cruise ship activity on the Costa Brava boosts tourism in the Girona region and generates wealth for the municipality and the surrounding area. According to data from CLIA (Cruise Lines International Association), the expected economic impact from these 39 port calls will be €3.1 million.
Regarding Palamós becoming a Schengen port, Font explained that the Ministry of the Interior has requested a new requirement: a new detention center, which will entail an additional investment of €150,000. “We will carry out the work this year, at a time that will have the least impact on cruise ship activity, and we hope that this will be the last requirement they ask of us to configure this port as a Schengen point,” he stated.
