The Port of Barcelona has announced that it expects 158,000 passengers in 2015 for the Allure of the Seas and that they will be spending 17.5 million euros in the city. The Allure will sail 25 times from Barcelona during the 2015 season.
“The choice of Barcelona as a base for the Allure of the Seas for the entire 2015 season is a challenge for the large scale of operations that the ship will be making, but it also helps to consolidate Barcelona as the leader in the European and Mediterranean cruise sector,” said Sixte Cambra, president of Barcelona Port Authority, in a prepared statement.
At a joint press conference, Belen Wanguemert, CEO of Royal Caribbean in Spain and France, highlighted the boost that the arrival of a vessel of this type represents for tourism and for business directly linked to the cruise activity, involving a full range of port services and supplies.
This economic impact estimate is based on the latest study from Barcelona Tourist Board, which has calculated that cruise passengers on turnarounds spend an average of 113 EUR, but this is not the only impact the Allure will cause on the local economy. Wealth creation also includes business generated by ship supplies (food, fuel, water and all kinds of consumer products); services and port fees; the benefit in tourist terms of bringing passengers to Barcelona from all over the world; and the positive impact it has on the international image of the capital of Catalonia.
Cambra pointed out that Barcelona is the only Mediterranean port with appropriate facilities to handle large-scale operations for vessels such as the Allure, with more than 12,000 passengers embarking and disembarking daily (6,300 in each operation). To ensure that these run smoothly and efficiently, Terminals B and C, managed by Creuers del Port de Barcelona (Port of Barcelona Cruises) and located on Adossat wharf, will provide service to the Royal Caribbean vessel simultaneously.
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