It is another attempt to try to control over tourism in the city
The Barcelona Cruise Port will end two terminals. The measure is part of the effort to combat the problem of excessive tourism in the city.
The closure, which will reduce the number of terminals to run to five when the measure comes into force next year, is part of an agreement with the Barcelona City Council, according to a press release.
The agreement also includes financing for a study that will evaluate how cruise passengers move around the city. The municipality says it is a first step to a sustainable mobility plan.
In addition, the agreement also integrates the modernization of port infrastructure, in order to make cruise operations more sustainable – for example, allowing ships to attach to a clean energy source when they are moved, which would turn them off the engines and reduce emissions.
Ships that attach to a green source of energy on earth while they are attracted, which means that their engines can be turned off, reducing emissions.
This is an 185 million euros plan, which brings together public and private investment, notes the statement.
These initiatives are part of a broader effort that Barcelona is making to deal with the pressures of over tourism in the city, which has fueled resistance and protest of places in recent years. One of the initiatives that became news took place in July 2024, when there were tourists hit with water pistols.
Barcelona’s popularity among tourists has led to complaints from residents about the excess of people in the city and the lack of accessible housing, as the apartments are intended for tourist accommodation.
In 2024, the Barcelona Port, the largest cruise ships in Europe, registered 1.6 million passengers “in transit”.
Most land when ships dock in the morning, walk the city and return in the late afternoon to go to the next destination, according to the Barcelona Tourism Press Office in March.
The crowds end up accumulating in places like La Rambla or the Gothic neighborhood, which is the oldest part of the city, end up feeding the wrath of residents.
The agreement achieved between the municipality and the port of Barcelona is the latest effort to reduce the impact of tourism that arrives on cruise ships.
In October 2023, Barcelona closed its port terminal north to the traffic of cruise ships after an agreement with local authorities to move ships to a more distant point in the city.
Earlier, in 2018, the port authorities and the municipal council had already agreed to “transfer cruise activity away from urban areas, making them more sustainable”.
Following this same agreement, Porto closed another cruise terminal, Maremagnum. The area now houses restaurants, bars, a candle and marina club, an aquarium and a shopping center.
