Early indications of Spanish ports prepping for domestic cruising: update

Spanish media report Barcelona Port Authority has scheduled a May 17 meeting to firm up new procedures and prepare for the arrival of cabotage cruise operations, initially serving only Spanish ports. It had intitially been set to take place on May 14.

Implies June/July restart 

The anticipated schedule would see first departures within six to eight weeks. The local tourism sector has been hoping for a relaunch to include the Midsummer St. John's fiesta on June 24, starting a long holiday weekend.

A popular port destination

In 2019, the Port of Barcelona welcomed 3,137,918 cruise passengers, 3.1% growth from 2018. Of those, 1,753,222 originated or disembarked in the city, 5.1% more than a year earlier. 

A University of Barcelona study, with input from Cruise Lines International Association, indicates 26% of the total flow, more than 800,000, originated in the US.