Tourist ships will be able to return to Spanish ports to make international trips from June 7
Good news for the tourism sector and in particular that of cruises: this Saturday, the Official State Gazette has published the resolution of the General Directorate of the Merchant Marine by which the international cruise calls are reactivated as of next Monday June 7, a green flag that both shipping companies and ports had been waiting for months.
The first, to add Spanish stopovers in their journeys and the second to recover a lost ground for more than a year in which other Mediterranean countries such as Italy and Greece had taken the lead, reactivating trips and terminals, always under strict health protocols.
International cruise stops are reactivated as of next Monday, June 7
The decision of the Merchant Marine, dependent on the Ministry of Transport, reveals a certain positive horizon in a sector that, through its employer and main association, CLIA, had continuously knocked on the doors of state and regional entities, town councils and port authorities for the implementation of protocols that would allow a progressive return of ships, since the peninsula, the Balearic Islands and the Canary Islands are one of the main markets in the world and Barcelona in particles a reference port.
The evolution of the pandemic and the vaccination campaign allow the restart of international operations in ports
Just a few weeks ago, the president of the CLIA , Pierfrancesco Vago, commented that cruise trips were being programmed in cabotage, that is, making stops without leaving the country of origin, in order to reactivate the ships.
Some cruise lines already had scheduled trips touching only Andalusian ports, from the east and from the islands or also from the south of Spain to the Canary Islands and back. In fact, in the Canary Islands some trips have already been started that only touch different ports of the seven islands.
As of June 7, these limitations will end and there will be the possibility of rescheduling trips that touch French, Spanish or Italian ports on the same cruise.
This news is a relief for the more than 50,000 families in Spain that depend on our sector “
“This news is a relief for the more than 50,000 families in Spain that depend on our sector. I wish to convey my gratitude to the authorities and technicians of the regional and state administrations who have worked with us to reactivate cruise ships safely in our country; as well as to all the companies and associations that have shown us their support during this long and difficult period of inactivity ”, indicated this morning Alfredo Serrano, director of CLIA in Spain.”
As of June 7, we will work with all of them so that Spain recovers its position within the cruise industry in Europe as soon as possible,” he added.
Green light, then, for cruises, one of the sectors that has suffered the most from this very long crisis in which mobility has been one of the most affected factors and its model is based on this: leisure travel by sea. As of the first Monday in June, cruise lines will be able to reschedule their berths at docks and passenger stations throughout the state to once again receive, with strict health policies, cruise trips.
