Calls for smaller liners with wealthier passengers. | Majorca Daily Bulletin reporter

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The Platform Against Megacruises said today that the limits on cruise ships in Palma agreed by the Balearic Government with the Cruise Lines International Association (CLIA) “is not valid, because it is not profitable either economically or socially.

“We have to think again and reduce operations further, otherwise we are not going to build a sustainable tourism; all sectors have to be transformed to a lesser and higher quality tourism,” explained Jaume Garau, president of Palma XXI and member of the Platform.

In addition, referring to data provided by the Balearic Port Authority, he indicated that, so far this year, 340 cruise ships have visited Palma, 20 percent less than at the same time in 2019, “so it is true that the industry is recovering, but not to pre-pandemic levels”.

However, he regretted that the number of passengers has fallen by 40 percent, “because it means that many ships have come with fewer passengers who spend less and less in the city”.

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He called on the government to carry out an analysis of the costs and benefits involved considering that “the expenditure made by cruise passengers is lower”.

On the other hand, Garau stressed the consequences for the health of the population and stated that the costs associated in Mallorca with lung diseases due to the impact of pollution “are close to 56 million euros”.

“These large ships are not made for a port like Palma which needs smaller vessels that pollute less,” the president of Palma XXI said. He called for “smaller ships for the city, with passengers with greater spending power, that do not overcrowd and that spend more on what is produced here”.

“We want a cruise ship industry that provides cultural and social wealth, not one that extracts it,” said Garau, who considered that the appropriate limitation could be a maximum of one large cruise ship “while a study is being carried out” or none at all “and that only smaller ones should be allowed”.