Cruises from Spain increase due to national tourism demands.

The Spanish government reintroduced international cruises in Spain on June 7. Companies were initially conservative with reinstating cruises. This was due to restrictions on movement and social distancing requirements. The ongoing coronavirus situation in Spain is improving and domestic tourism continues to grow.

Over the summer, domestic tourism made up for a lack of foreign travellers. Cruise companies have taken advantage of this and have increased operations in Spain over the autumn and winter.

Fernando Pacheco, general manager of MSC Cruises in Spain, explained that since June 7 the company has had ships running from two Spanish ports. They have been working out of one port in Barcelona and another in Valencia.

The autumn programme for the company which runs from October to December has been increased. The company will have four cruise ships running from Barcelona.

“One will embark and disembark in Valencia and another two in Malaga. The experience of last summer tells us that domestic demand is still very strong and that the same thing will happen in autumn as in summer: there will be a lot of domestic travel and little foreign travel,” said Pacheco.

The winter schedule will run from January to March. During this time MSC will have two ships operating from Barcelona. One of the cruise ships will be calling at Palma. The appetite for travel is growing and the company is opening up routes to distant destinations. New routes include destinations such as Dubai and Saudi Arabia’s Jeddah.

Pacheco said: “for the December long holiday weekend alone, we have 1,000 bookings from Spaniards for a cruise to Dubai”.

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