Majorca plans to continue to cap cruise ship numbers in Palma

Majorca has proposed the continuation of a strict cap on the number of cruise ships that can dock each day in the capital Palma.

Plans have already been approved to continue the limit of tourist-carrying ships arriving in the port following calls from politicians in Madrid to impose serious regulations on cruise liner activity in Spain.

In May 2022, the Spanish island restricted the number of cruise ship arrivals a day to just three ships. Of these, only one ship could hold a capacity of over 5,000 passengers.

The Committee on Tourism, Trade, Employment, Culture and Sport is now working with the Balearic Government and cruise lines to renew the agreement and stagger the arrival of vessels.

The measures to protect the environment in the Spanish hotspot and curb overtourism are likely to impact British holidaymakers – 2.3 million flocked to Majorca in 2023.

Last October, eight local businesses including bars and restaurants called on the government to scrap the cruise restrictions after an 18 per cent fall in passengers, reports the Majorca Daily Bulletin.

In a statement, they said: “Don’t demonise cruise ship passengers, it is family tourism with a high spending power.”

Palma currently welcomes over two million cruise ship passengers a year on multi-city Mediterranean voyages.

Holidaymakers to Majorca were warned last week of tougher alcohol restrictions, including a ban on buying alcohol from shops on the Spanish island between 9.30pm and 8am under a crackdown announced by the local government.

The proposed cruise ship limit follows measures by other European port cities in Barcelona, Venice and Marseille.

Ocean-going cruises have already been banned from docking in the city centres of Amsterdam and Venice to limit tourist footfall.

According to a report by Transport & Environment last year, cruise ships were responsible for more than four times the sulphuric emissions into Europe’s atmosphere than all of the continent’s cars.

In 2018, campaigners also demanded a €5 daily tax for cruise ship passengers to the popular Balearic Island after concerns over the impact of mass tourism on the busy port and environment.