The port is expected to have its best season ever in terms of cruise ship stopovers.
L’Austral kicked off the cruise season with 203 passengers on board. The captain of the ship also received the port’s plaque to celebrate its first call at Roses.
The ports of Palamós and Roses anticipate 82 cruise calls, with about 69,500 passengers and an estimated economic impact of €5.1 M
The Port of Roses on the Costa Brava anticipates 15 cruise calls and 4,500 passengers this season. The Port of Roses will nearly double last season’s cruise ship calls, achieving the port’s best season ever in terms of stopovers. In addition, Roses expects to triple the number of passengers compared to last season.
Cruise ship activity in the Port of Roses will last for eight months this year, from April to November, without interruption. The season started on Friday, 25th April, and will end on Monday, 17th November.
More than half of the cruise ships will visit during the low season, which will help to spread tourism throughout the year in the Alt Empordà region and the Costa Brava, thereby boosting employment and the economy in the municipality of Roses and its hinterland.
Six cruise lines will be visiting Roses this season: Club Med, Emerald Cruises, Mystic Cruises, Ponant Yacht Cruises, Seabourn and SeaDream Yacht Club. 83% are European, from countries such as France, Norway, Portugal, and Switzerland, while the remaining 17% are North American. The port will also welcome two inaugural cruise calls: Austral and Emerald Sakara.
Inaugural call from the L’Austral
The season kicked off with the arrival of the cruise ship L’ Austral, operated by Ponant Yacht Cruises, which also made its inaugural visit to the Port of Roses. To commemorate the occasion, a plaque exchange ceremony was held. Furthermore, the representatives from Costa Brava Cruise Ports presented the captain with a local product from the region.
The ship arrived on Friday, 25th April, at 8:30 am from the port of Palma, anchored in the Bay of Roses and left for the port of Barcelona at 06:00 pm. The ship carried 203 passengers, mostly French and Australian. L’ Austral is 142 metres length, a 5 metres draft and has a gross register of 10,944 tonnes.
82 stopovers and 69,500 passengers at the Costa Brava
This year, the ports of Roses and Palamós expect to receive a total of 82 cruise ship calls and 69,500 passengers. There will be a 31% increase in passengers and a 41% increase in stopovers compared to last season, achieving the best figures since the cruise activity began. The season began on 3 April in the Port of Palamós.
Cruise ship activity had an estimated economic impact of €6.6 million in the region. This figure was taken from a study by the Cruise Lines International Association (CLIA), which estimates that each passenger spends an average of €89 when they disembark at a port of call and visit the destination. In addition, €6 have been added per passenger in terms of ship-linked expenditure for port services.
One of the most notable features of the Costa Brava season is that 20 cruise companies will be paying a visit, 85% of which are high-end operators offering passengers a wider range of services. The arrival of this type of cruise ship means that tourists with higher purchasing power will visit the area. Thus, visitors will be discovering unique and distinctive experiences in the region through cultural and food and wine activities.
Costa Brava Cruise Ports
Costa Brava Cruise Ports is the result of the collaboration between several public entities, made official in February 2012 with the signing of an agreement between Ports de la Generalitat de Catalunya, the Costa Brava Girona Tourist Board, the Girona and Palamós Chambers of Commerce and the town councils of Palamós and Roses. This alliance between port authorities, municipalities and destinations simplifies communication with both cruise companies and travellers, as it centralises information and streamlines procedures. The organisation works first-hand with all the key players to promote cruise tourism in the destination. Costa Brava Cruise Ports is a member of MEDCRUISE Association and of CLIA, the two most important cruise industry associations in the world.
