Palma.The once bouyant cruise ship market in the Port of Palma has taken a dive and the Port Authority is being forced to cut mooring fees by almost half.
The number of cruise ships visiting the Port of Palma has fallen by almost 15 percent this year and the local Port authorities are deeply concerned.
They believe that by reducing mooring fees Palma will once again become a major cruise ship destination. But they face heavy competition from other destinations in the Mediterranean including Barcelona.
The move will cost the Port of Palma in excess of seven million euros, according to the President of the Port Authority Jose Maria Urrutia.
We hope to take market share away from Valencia, Barcelona and ports in Italy and France, he said.
More than 1.3 million cruise ship passengers came to Majorca in the first eleven months of this year which clearly underlines how important this market is to Majorca.
The Palma Port Authority is also spending heavily on enlarging the port so that it can handle some of the new bigger cruise ships which are coming into service.
But cruise holidays are not as popular as they once were and the market has hit rough seas over recent years with concerns over safety being heightened following the sinking of the Costa Concordia off the coast of Italy earlier this year. The industry has been forced to slash the price of cruises over recent months because they are simply not selling, said one travel source yesterday.
Palma has also been criticised for not doing enough to attract cruise ship passengers with the majority of shops and restaurants still being closed at the weekend when most cruise ships visit the local port. The industry would like to see Palma open for business at the weekends.
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