Cruise ships will continue to berth in Amsterdam city centre, terminal relocation targeted for 2035
A target date of 2035 for Passenger Terminal Amsterdam (PTA) to relocate from its current city-centre location at the Veemkade was announced by Amsterdam City Council.
Meantime cruise ships will continue to be welcomed in Amsterdam at PTA’s current location for the next 11 years although capacity for oceangoing ships will be reduced from two to one berth and a cap of 100 calls per year set for 2026 onwards.
Double bookings for 2024 and 2025 will be respected, and 90 calls have so far been accepted for 2025, PTA Managing Director Dick de Graaff told Seatrade Cruise News. Starting January 1, 2027, the use of shore power will be mandatory, he added.
As investigation on the move will start in 2025, said the City Council, who in 2023 adopted a motion that Amsterdam is better off without ocean cruise ships.
Economic effects
Following this motion, the potential economic effects were investigated and a report outlining the course of action announced this week.
The City of Amsterdam, together with the Port of Amsterdam, the Ministry of Infrastructure and Water Management (IenW) and the Province of North Holland will conduct additional financial, economic and legal research on the implications of relocating to the Coenhaven.
This research will be completed by mid-2025.
Feasibility study on relocation
Based on this, the city will decide in fall 2025, in coordination with the Ministry of IenW, the Port of Amsterdam and the Province of North Holland, whether the relocation to Coenhaven is feasible.
A CLIA spokesperson called the announcement a 'great example of the cruise industry’s long-standing partnership with the Port of Amsterdam and the direct outcome of our collaborative discussions on the relocation of the passenger terminal outside the city centre, which started back in 2016.
‘Amsterdam is and will remain a popular cruise destination, and cruise tourism will continue delivering important economic benefits to the city — to the tune of around €105m annually. That economic contribution is particularly significant when you consider that of the more than 21m visitors to Amsterdam each year, only around 1% arrive by cruise ship.'
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