Increasing in ships that have the Catalan capital as the beginning and end of their itinerary!

The Port of Barcelona expects to match the historical record of travelers set in 2011, a year in which it received 2.6 million cruise passengers. The forecast increase compared to last year is due to an increase in ships that have the Catalan capital as the beginning and end of their itinerary. There will be 14 of these. The type of passengers of these cruises, known as turnaround cruises, are the ones that spend more money in the city. According to a study on the economic impact prepared by the University of Barcelona, the average daily amount spent by these cruise passengers is 202 euros.

The  forecast increase is also due to the fact that the Port of Barcelona is starting to break the seasonality associated with the cruise ships. To the cruise vessels of Costa and MSC, which since a few seasons ago operate from Barcelona in the winter, Norwegian Cruise Line is added.

In 2016 a total of 750 ships and 40 shipping companies are predicted to operate in the port of Barcelona. Luxury and high end ships are a trend that will grow. Three Sundays will be the busiest days: the 22nd of May, the 19th of June and the 11th of September. This last one will be the one with most activity with 31,217 passengers expected. The weekend with the highest volume of cruise passengers will be between the 1st to 3rd of July, with a total of 62,166 people passing through port. This year will also mark the beginning of the construction of the new terminal E, which the Carnival Corporation will continue to manager. The main market operator will invest 30 millions of euros in what will be the largest cruise terminal of Europe, with 10,000 square meters.

Source: David Guerrero, La Vanguardia
Photo Credit: cruisingexcursions.com