The port of Roses expects 1,400 cruise passengers this season
The port of Roses’ first cruise season was launched today by the luxury cruise liner Seabourn Quest. The port is expecting five cruise ships and some 1,400 passengers to visit during this first season. Today, the port of Roses is embarking on a new phase in which it aims to become a regular port of call for cruise ships every season, instead of receiving occasional visits as it has done until now. As part of the institutional agreement signed last February, the ports of Roses and Palamós are working together to promote cruise activity on the Costa Brava, thus increasing tourism potential and revitalising the economy of the Girona region.
The Director General of the Catalan Government’s Department of Transport and Mobility, Ricard Font, accompanied by the Deputy Mayor of Roses Town Council, Montse Mindan, and the Chairman of Girona Chamber of Commerce, Domènec Espadalé, today presented the captain of the cruise ship Seabourn Quest with a commemorative plaque to mark the occasion of his first stop at Roses.
Five cruises and 1,400 passengers this year
The first regular cruise season in the port of Roses is being launched with five visits by luxury cruise liners and an anticipated 1,400 passengers over a period of four months. The season starts in July and is expected to continue through to October. In the calendar for this year, the cruise ship Seabourn Quest will stop three times at the port while the ships Seadream I and Seadream II will make one stop each.
Promoting cruises on the Costa Brava
After the ports of Roses and Palamós signed an institutional agreement last February to work together to promote cruise activity, the port of Roses is embarking on a new phase with the arrival of cruise ships every season –something that had previously been sporadic. Now Roses is positioned as a port in the Alt Empordà region that receives Mediterranean cruise traffic.
The aim of the institutional agreement is to attract more cruise ships and passengers to Girona’s coastline. During the 2012 season Palamós and Roses will receive 35 visits from cruise ships and some 40,000 passengers between them. These figures represent a real boost for tourism on the Costa Brava and an increase in economic activity for the region, as the cruise passengers visit these two towns and make trips to the main tourist centres on the Costa Brava and others in the Girona province.
The agreement was signed by Ports de la Generalitat, the Costa Brava Girona Tourism Board, the town councils of Roses and Palamós, and Girona and Palamós chambers of commerce. As part of the agreement, a working group was set up to develop an action plan for 2012 and 2013 which specifies a series of actions designed to promote the ports of Roses and Palamós and their areas of influence in the main forums in the national and international cruise industry.
In this context, Ports de la Generalitat, representing the working group charged with promoting cruise activity in the ports of Palamós and Roses, took part in the European Cruise Council’s annual conference, which met last week in Brussels to discuss the global cruise industry, its current situation and plans for the future.