The University of Barcelona (UB) estimates that 4.1% of visitors to Barcelona in 2023 will come from cruise tourism and will contribute 13% to the amount managed by the City Council from the tourist establishment tax (IETT) plus municipal surcharge.
This is one of the main conclusions that emerge from the presentation Cruise activity in Barcelona: evolution, characterization and tax collection, carried out in Barcelona by the professor of Applied Economics of the University of Barcelona and director of the Applied Economics Laboratory AQR-Lab, Jordi Suriñach, and the senior professor of Applied Economics of the Faculty of Economics and Business of the University of Barcelona and Researcher of AQR-Lab, Esther Vayá.
Similarly, the analysis also concludes that:
- The cruise industry experienced significantly lower growth than other tourism options during the decade 2010-2019. Thus, its average annual growth in this period was 3.1% compared to 4.5% for tourist overnight stays in the city; 4.3% for city visits and 8% for passengers arriving by air.
- This average growth has been much higher among homeport cruise passengers (3.7%) compared to transit cruise passengers (2.8%).
- Among the home port passengers, those from the United States and Canada predominate; tourists with a higher spending profile than the rest of the visitors (187 euros / day compared to 138 euros / day in Barcelona).
- Cruise ship passengers stand out for being more interested in culture and shopping than other visitors.
- For their travels, and compared to other visitors, cruise passengers show a clear preference for taxis and tourist buses over the metro.
- In 2019, cruise ship passengers accounted for an average of 4.1% of the city's total visitors (6,566 compared to 158,610 daily visitors). The highest percentages were recorded in September (5.6%) and October (5.3%).
- Regarding the tourist establishment tax (IETT) and municipal surcharge, the cruise ship is the only means of transport that is taxed.
Due to tariff changes and the municipal surcharge, the amount managed by the City Council would increase approximately sixfold between 2019 and 2023-2024, reaching €8 million and €9 million in 2023 and 2024 respectively. The number of cruise passengers is assumed to remain constant.
The cruise industry is willing to collaborate with the territory
The director of the Cruise Lines International Association (CLIA) in Spain, Alfredo Serrano, also attended the presentation.
In his speech, Serrano recalled: “We feel Barcelona is our home; we contribute quality tourism to the region and we want to continue developing the industry in a sustainable way from an economic, social and environmental point of view, always within the framework of the agreement signed by the City Council and the Port of Barcelona in 2018.”
“In this sense,we are willing to listen and collaborate with all the different administrations, economic, social and neighborhood agents in order to rigorously draw up a plan that allows us to maximize the advantages of cruise tourism and minimize any negative externalities that may be identified,” he assured.
Furthermore, Serrano highlighted the role of the cruise industry as a leader and catalyst in the green transformation of maritime transport and pointed out some of its milestones in this area:
- 80% of the ships that dock in Barcelona are self-sufficient in water
- Regarding air pollution and based on the Study on the Quality of Air of Barcelona Regional (2019), the Port of Barcelona estimates that industry was responsible for 0.7% of nitrogen oxide emissions and 0.16% of suspended particles in Barcelona, a decrease of 10% compared to 2016.
- 35% of cruise tourists arriving in Barcelona in 2023 will do so aboard a ship powered by liquefied natural gas (LNG).
- The electrification works planned for the port anticipate that cruise ships will be able to connect to the shore power grid in 2026, which will mean switching off their engines and, therefore, practically eliminating their emissions in port.
- The industry is working hard to reach net-zero carbon emissions by 2050.
- The industry applies the principles of the circular economy: ships are equipped with sophisticated recycling systems that allow for the use of almost 100% of the waste generated on board
