The employers' associations Afedeco, Pimeco, CAEB, Pimem, the Balearic Confederation of Commerce (CBC), the Federation of Tourist Holiday Stays of Mallorca and groups of taxi drivers, restaurateurs and vehicle rental companies on the island, have shown their rejection of the proposal to limit the arrival of cruise ships to the port of Palma because this type of tourism is "very important for the Balearic economy".
These organizations have asserted that cruise tourism is “very positive” for both businesses and Palma's complementary tourism offerings, as cruise passengers visit the city for a few hours and need to leave with a good first impression to encourage them to return. In their statement, they emphasize that certain political sectors, with the support of affiliated organizations, are attempting to demonize cruise tourism, and that millions of euros were invested years ago in international trade fairs and promotional campaigns to attract cruise ships, which provide many stable jobs in the retail sector—a sector whose impact should not be underestimated.
Palma is a privileged port, with many cruise ships operating as its homeport, where numerous passengers embark and disembark, extending economic benefits to the airport, hotels, restaurants, and taxis. Furthermore, most of the cruise ships operating in Palma are state-of-the-art vessels, equipped with gas scrubbers that significantly reduce emissions into the atmosphere. The AIDANova, the world's first cruise ship to operate on Liquefied Natural Gas (LNG), a fuel that emits no sulfur oxides or particulate matter, reduces nitrogen oxide emissions by 90%, and CO2 emissions by 20%, is a regular visitor to the port. Recently, a study based on calculations and assumptions, rather than measurements, identified Palma as one of the cities most polluted by cruise ships, when the reality is quite the opposite.
