Europe's busiest cruise port Barcelona to scale back amid overtourism concerns

By Corina Pons and Joan Faus

MADRID/BARCELONA (Reuters) -The port of Barcelona, Europe's busiest for cruise ships, will scale back its passenger terminal capacity by 2030 as the city tries to put the brakes on surging arrivals and address concerns about overtourism.

The city hall and port authority agreed on Thursday to reduce the number of terminals to five from seven, lowering the port's capacity for simultaneously handling cruise ship passengers to 31,000 from 37,000 by the end of the decade.

Barcelona recorded a 21% increase in cruise ship calls and a 20% rise in passengers to 1.2 million people in January-May this year from the same period in 2024, official data showed. That was a sharp acceleration after passenger numbers grew a total 20% in 2018-2024.

There have been protests against tourism and debates about overcrowding in the Spanish city.

"For the first time in history, limits are being placed on the growth of cruise ships in the city," Mayor Jaume Collboni said, announcing the agreement.

The left-wing mayor told Reuters last year he was seeking a new deal with port authorities to reduce the number of one-day cruise calls, in an effort to avoid overcrowding at cultural landmarks such as the Sagrada Familia basilica.

Under the new plan, three terminals will be combined into one. The port will prioritise cruise ships that use Barcelona as their home port for departures and arrivals and encourage tourists to stay longer and spend more in the city.

The port said the refurbishment would facilitate connecting ships to the local electricity grid, reducing emissions.

European Union rules on reducing carbon emissions have set a 2030 deadline for maritime ports to install the infrastructure to provide onshore power supply. Most European ports are lagging in installing them, a study said this week.

(Reporting by Corina Pons and Joan FausEditing by Andrei Khalip and Frances Kerry)