According to La Vanguardia, the port of Barcelona could have a new cruise terminal. This was confirmed to the newspaper by Pierfrancesco Vago, president of MSC Cruises, who expressed his intention to "invest heavily in the construction of a large passenger terminal of their own" in the Catalan capital. According to Vago, negotiations have already taken place with the Port Authority "and we will begin construction very soon under the direction of a prominent local architect."
The MSC Cruises executive stated that the future terminal will be “a symbolic building, visible even from the Ronda Litoral ring road, and will become a beautiful gateway to the city by sea.” The architect will be Ricardo Bofill, the same man who designed the Vela building, the W Barcelona hotel, which is already a part of the city's maritime skyline.
MSC Cruises is currently immersed in an investment to build eleven smart ships that will be launched between this year and 2026. This investment also takes Barcelona very much into account, a city and port that the CEO of MSC Cruises always has in mind, both professionally and personally, as he acknowledged in a meeting in Madrid after receiving the Condé Nast Traveler.
“Barcelona is an unparalleled port. We have been committed to Catalonia since the company's inception. We have an increasing number of ships calling at the port, and especially using it as a base for the start and end of their voyages thanks to the airport and its hotel infrastructure. In fact, our next three new ships will be launched and christened in Barcelona,” Vago announced. This commitment to the Catalan capital will not only involve increasing port calls and attracting new visitors, but also the construction of a large, dedicated passenger terminal. All of this comes at a time when Barcelona is engaged in a heated debate about the limits of tourism that the city should not exceed.
In a few days, Sophia Loren will christen the new MSC Meraviglia in Le Havre. It's already a tradition: the actress has been godmother to all of the cruise line's new ships since 2003. When asked about the colossal size of the ships his company launches, Vago argues that it's about offering passengers an ever-increasing variety and also something else entirely: economies of scale. A large ship allows for a more competitive average price. According to Vago, the cruise sector has become "democratized" while maintaining high standards of quality, and is now also incorporating sustainability criteria.
According to CLIA, the cruise line association representing 95% of the world's cruise lines, approximately 24 million people traveled on cruises last year, a figure that continues to grow steadily. In terms of passenger numbers, Barcelona remains the leading port in Europe and the sixth busiest in the world. The top three are homeports (Miami, Port Everglades, and Port Canaveral in the United States), while the next two are ports of call (Nassau in the Bahamas and Cozumel in Mexico).
