More than 40 organisations, including associations and companies, among them the Federation of Small and Medium-Sized Enterprises of Mallorca (Pimem) and the Association of Small and Medium-Sized Businesses (Pimeco), presented a manifesto on Tuesday to Palma City Council calling for the continuity and stability of cruise tourism in Mallorca. The groups expressed their rejection of the council’s policies in its intentions to restrict the arrival of cruise ships in the Balearic capital.
The platform has argued that the sector began a pioneering transition some time ago and has made a clear commitment to developing new pioneering technologies to comply with international regulations.
The platform’s spokesperson, Álex Fraile, has said that we are not talking about promises but about million-pound investments and has given as an example that many of the ships now arriving in Palma already operate on liquefied natural gas (LNG), which reduces emissions and particles, or electrification, where the key is the connection to the shore.
‘If the government and the Port Authority speed this up, ships will turn off their engines in port, eliminating smoke in the city. It is not logical for shipping companies to anticipate this and for Spanish ports not to be adapted for electrical connections,’ he added. This is the most powerful economic argument, according to the platform. For the association, cruises are not just a product linked to sun and sand.
‘It is the ability to support many workers and small businesses, commerce, restaurants, guides, discretionary transport, taxis, and travel agencies,’ added Fraile, who pointed out that upper-middle-class cruise passengers seeking culture and gastronomy outside the high season are the profile that the Balearics need in order not to depend on the monoculture of sun and beach.
According to the same platform, ‘aggressive’ social dialogue has decreased in intensity due to the limitation agreements. They added that three cruise ships per day have significantly reduced the number of stopovers and passengers, and that this has been strictly complied with. On the other hand, they have also pointed out the variable of economic realism, highlighting the importance of being more aware that ‘prohibiting without an alternative is dangerous for local employment’. For Álex Fraile, ‘the disappearance of direct confrontation gives us a historic opportunity to work through public-private collaboration’.
To ensure long-term survival, the “Yes to Cruises” platform has asked the government to communicate the data, invest the sustainable tourist tax (ITS) in the electrification of the docks and use technology to ensure that tourists do not all coincide at the same time in a given place. ‘We need the government to be a proactive ally. Committing to cruises means committing to a modern, technological industry that is capable of sustaining our economy when the rest of the tourism sector is at a standstill. It is, in short, a question of responsibility and the future,’ he concluded.
Pimem has shown its full support for the platform. Its president, Jordi Mora, has assured that it is a mistake to go against this sector, ‘which is the one that has best understood the steps it must take to offer a sustainable service’. Mora has called for the agreements that were reached between the sector and the administration at the time to be respected.
For her part, the president of Pimeco and vice-president of Pimem, Carolina Domingo, argued that cruise tourism is a key element in Palma’s commercial dynamism, especially in the low season.
As she explained, the reduction in stopovers has an immediate impact on small and medium-sized businesses, which during the winter months depend largely on this flow of visitors to maintain their activity. ‘Shops, restaurants, services, transport and hundreds of small businesses benefit from an activity that is considered complementary but essential,’ concluded Domingo.