Popular cruise destination hikes tax on cruise passengers
Cruise passengers will pay more to visit these sought-after islands during peak cruise season.
As cruising continues to grow in popularity and cruise ship sizes increase right along with it, some overwhelmed cruise destinations are grappling with how to combat overtourism.
Some destinations are limiting cruise-ship arrivals at their ports with restrictions on cruise-ship sizes and the number of vessels allowed to dock per day.
Related: Royal Caribbean faces pushback on key port expansion
Other destinations are imposing taxes on cruise ship passengers, often to help fund sustainability measures and new port infrastructure to keep up with the swelling demand. Some port cities are even considering doing all of these things at once.
One group of islands that already has a daily tourist tax and cruise ship restrictions at its ports has now decided to triple its “eco-tax” on cruise ship passengers arriving during the peak summer season.
Still, some leaders in the destination say not enough is being done to reduce the negative impacts of giant cruise ships and the swarms of tourists they bring to their city streets.
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Balearic Islands wrestle with how to control cruise tourism
Spain’s Balearic Islands, which include the popular cruise ports of Palma de Mallorca and Ibiza, are proposing new “tourism containment measures” that will increase the region’s sustainable tourism tax significantly during the peak season months of June, July and August. For cruise ship passengers, the peak-season tax will increase from 2 euros per day to 6 euros per day, according to the Majorca Daily Bulletin.
Members of the political party MÉS per Palma have also demanded stricter limits on cruise ship arrivals in the port of Palma de Mallorca, where 541 cruise ships are scheduled to stop in 2025. The Balearic Port Authority anticipates the port will receive 1.8 million cruise passengers this year. Although the port limits cruise ship arrivals to no more than one mega-ship and two smaller ships per day, Palma still expects 47 more cruise ships and 41,000 more tourists than last year.
Related: Key port backpedals on cruise ban, Royal Caribbean still blocked
“We cannot allow Palma to be an express stop for cruise passengers while residents suffer the consequences of this overcrowding,” MÉS per Palma councillor Miquel Àngel Contreras stressed in a recent press conference.
The group has submitted a proposal for the city council that calls for stricter limits on cruise ships and better regulation of their arrivals at the port.
Ibiza limits cruise ship arrivals to two ships at a time
Last year, the Balearic island of Ibiza moved to limit and better manage cruise ship calls to its port to prevent overcrowding and transportation issues during peak cruise season. Under the new policy, only two cruise ships are allowed to dock at the same time, with a maximum of 3,000 cruise passengers permitted to disembark, as reported by La Voz de Ibiza.
“We are not against the arrival of cruise ships, but we ask for it to take place in a more orderly and planned manner,” Vicent Marí, President of Ibiza’s Council, explained when the plan was introduced in September.
Related: Popular US port to add new fee for cruise passengers
Even with new limits in place, the port authority still expects Ibiza to welcome more cruise ships in 2025. However, the number of passengers arriving on those cruise ships is anticipated to decrease. The port authority estimates that the 192 cruise ships scheduled to visit Ibiza will bring 516,690 passengers, down from 580,830 passengers last season.
During the peak summer season, both Ibiza and Palma de Mallorca expect to receive calls from ships from Norwegian Cruise Line, MSC Cruises, Virgin Voyages, and more. One of Royal Caribbean’s giant Oasis-class ships, Allure of the Seas, which has a passenger capacity of about 5,500, will also make frequent calls to Palma.
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