Cruise ships with Barcelona as base port reach new records, representing 83% of overall
Number of vessels decreases, but passengers slightly increase as boats have higher capacities
The port of Barcelona has recorded 323 cruise ships during the first six months of 2024, with 83% of those having the Catalan capital as their base port. A new record which cannot be seen anywhere else in Europe.
"This number is very good," Lluís Salvadó, the president of the Port of Barcelona, said during a press conference on Thursday to unveil the figures from the first six months of the year.
"These figures cannot be seen anywhere else in European ports, which are very far away from reaching these numbers," he added.
Cruise ship passengers during the first semester of 2024 have slightly increased by 3.9% reaching 1,065,172, but the number of vessels decreased by 6.6% from 346 to 323.
This is because "boats dock with more passengers than before," with an average occupancy rate of 80%.
The port has also seen a 10% increase in premium and luxury sailboats, which is a way of "reducing quantity and the impact of visitors," but it allows to focus on "positively targeting the future of the city," Salvadó said. Barcelona will be hosting the America's Cup from August until October, with many international supporters already traveling to the city.
Barcelona has also seen a 23.6% increase in the number of containers, surpassing the two million TEUs. This is mainly due to the "Houthis attacks in the Red Sea," which forced the block the Suez Canal and moved many of the boats to the Cape of Good Hope in South Africa.
This longer route, adding between 10 and 12 days more per journey, meant that many European ports in the Mediterranean had to change their workflow to distribute containers more efficiently and work as a hub.