Cruise ships will be banned from docking at Barcelona’s most central port from October 22 in a controversial move to reduce emissions near the city centre.
All cruise ships will be forced to dock at the city’s less central southern port next to the Moll Adossat pier, which is currently used by larger cruise lines such as Norwegian Cruise Line, Royal Caribbean and MSC Cruises.
The city’s ‘Muelle Barcelona Norte’ northern docks and the World Trade Center area will both be affected by the ban.
This means that tourists will no longer be able to walk from cruise ships to Barcelona’s historic center – instead, they will have to take a shuttle bus from the dock further south to access the city.
For disembarking passengers, it takes just ten minutes on foot to reach the iconic La Rambla boulevard from the central dock. It will take about half an hour by bus from the southern port.
Cruise ships will be banned from docking at Barcelona’s main port (above) from October 22 in a controversial move to cut emissions near the city center
All vessels will be forced to dock at Barcelona’s less central southern port next to the Moll Adossat pier (top right).
Barcelona has long been a popular destination for British tourists enjoying a cruise around the Mediterranean.
Visitors are drawn to the city’s sandy beaches and famous landmarks such as the Sagrada Familia and Antoni Gaudi’s Park Guell.
Although the ban will not officially come into effect until later this month, the last vessel docked at the northern port on October 3.
Lluís Salvado, president of the Port of Barcelona, labeled October 3 as a ‘historic day for the city’.
He added: ‘We push the pollution away, to the south and reduce the emissions reaching the city.’
A new limit has also been introduced on how many vessels can call at Barcelona’s ports – the number of available docking areas for vessels will be reduced from ten to seven on 22 October.
The new restrictions have been in the works since 2018 when Barcelona’s municipal government and port authority agreed to regulate cruise ship activity.
What was once a short ten-minute walk to the iconic La Rambla boulevard (above) will now be a 30-minute shuttle bus ride for disembarking passengers.
The agreement stemmed from controversies over increased pressure from tourism on the Catalan capital.
Mr Salvado said: ‘The closure of the northern docks of Barcelona to cruise operations is a new step to comply with the agreement signed in 2018 with the municipal government of Barcelona to reduce the negative impact this activity can cause for citizens. eliminate. This is clear evidence that the Port of Barcelona complies with the agreement.’
There has been a wave of anti-tourism protests in Barcelona over the past six years.
A tourist bus was particularly targeted in 2017, with masked attackers slashing the tires and spray-painting ‘tourism kills neighbourhoods’ on its windscreen.
Cruise ships will be forced to dock at Barcelona’s less central southern port, next to the Moll Adossat pier, which is currently used by larger vessels by lines such as Royal Caribbean (above)
Sayings such as ‘tourists go home’ have also been graffitied around the city by anti-tourism groups.
Tourism has also grown steadily since the end of the pandemic. The number of cruise ships arriving in Barcelona increased by 8 percent in the first half of 2023, compared to the same period in 2019. On average, 3.1 million people travel through the port of Barcelona every year.
Mr Salvado explained that the aim is to stabilize, not reduce, the number of people using the port.
Barcelona’s partial ban on cruise ships follows similar measures introduced in other European tourist hotspots.
Venice banned ships from stopping in the lagoon in 2021 and has since discussed plans to introduce a daily tax for all visitors over 14.
Amsterdam, Santorini and the Orkney Islands have all also implemented or announced plans to restrict or ban cruise ships.