Through the payment of the tourist establishment tax, cruise passengers transiting through the Port of Barcelona generate more revenue per person per day than they spend for the City Council. Transit cruise passengers pay a fee of €6 or €7 per person per day, depending on whether their stopover is longer or shorter than 12 hours.
Furthermore, it is estimated that cruise passengers at the Port of Barcelona contributed €14.5 million in 2024, a figure that does not include the increase in the municipal surcharge recently announced by the city government. Of this €14.5 million, €11.6 million (two million more than in 2023) would be managed by the City Council.
These are some of the conclusions that emerge from the study Contribution of cruise passengers of the Port of Barcelona to the tax revenue of the Barcelona City Council, prepared by the University of Barcelona (UB), at the request of the Cruise Lines International Association (CLIA).
The study also concludes that:
● The contribution of cruise ship passengers to the total revenue from the tourist establishment tax has increased across the board, rising from 3.7% of total revenue in 2012 to 9.3% in 2023.
● In 2019, it is estimated that cruise ship passengers represented 4.1% of the city's visitors and contributed 7.5% of the revenue managed by the City Council through the tourist tax.
Therefore, the proportion of cruise ship passengers relative to the total number of visitors is significantly lower than their contribution to the total revenue managed by the City Council.
Similarly, the study analyzes the situation in other European Union (EU) destinations:
● The collection of a specific tourist tax from cruise passengers is very uncommon in Europe. There is no uniformity among European destinations regarding the amount or the criteria for applying this tax.
● Of the three major destinations where cruises are taxed (Barcelona, Palma, and Hamburg), Barcelona has the highest rate of tourist taxation.
Moderate growth in 2024, concentrated among homeport cruise passengers.
Alfredo Serrano assessed the past season in Barcelona (January-November): “Cruise activity in Barcelona experienced a 2.6% increase in passenger traffic compared to 2023, which would place it below half the national growth rate (5.6%).” In the case of Barcelona, “the increase in cruise activity represented a quarter of that recorded by the other major gateway for tourists, the airport,” Serrano clarified.
“It is worth noting,” added the CLIA executive, “that the number of cruise passengers who only spent a few hours in Barcelona (transit cruise passengers) decreased by 2.8% in 2024. Meanwhile, embarkation/disembarkation activity (homeport), which has a greater economic impact, registered a growth of 7.2%, which explains the overall increase of 2.6%. These figures demonstrate that the strategy of the Port and the shipping lines to boost homeport operations continues to yield results.”.
Regarding transit cruise passengers, Serrano also defended their contribution: “Transit cruise passengers spend a significant amount in a short period of time, and this can only increase if it is properly managed by the destinations.” “The study also shows that, with their current contribution to the tourist establishment tax alone, municipal revenues far exceed the expenses they generate for the City Council. Therefore, they are a type of visitor who contributes greatly to the region and should be valued as such,” he added.
“Barcelona and Catalonia have a great opportunity to work with the industry to implement responsible tourism practices aimed at making Barcelona – the main cruise port in the Mediterranean – a global success story in tourism management,” Serrano added.
The CLIA director in Spain also outlined the trends expected for the 2025 season in Barcelona. “While it is still early, the indicators show that progress in reducing seasonality will continue, and calls by smaller ships with fewer than 1,000 beds will increase from 28% to 31% of the total.”.
Serrano also emphasized the importance of the International Maritime Organization's (IMO) designation of the Mediterranean as a Low Emission Zone, which will come into effect on May 1st. "This is a milestone—celebrated by the cruise industry—that will represent the realization of demands from various social actors over time and will ultimately lead to improved air quality.".
The designation as a Low Emission Zone implies stricter limitations on particulate matter and sulfur oxide emissions, positively impacting air quality. Thus, the sulfur content of marine fuels cannot exceed 0.10%, representing an 80% reduction.
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