‘Gibraltar has a good three to four days of attractions’

Gibraltar was among the nations and regions from around the world with a stand at the World Travel Market this week in London. At the helm of this vital tourism promotion was Gibraltar government minister Christian Santos, whose portfolio includes tourism, as well as equality, employment, culture and youth.

Speaking to SUR in English at the Gibraltar stand, Santos described how this year’s opening of the border had affected tourism.

“We’ve seen a lot more traffic coming in, a lot more coaches coming into Gibraltar,” he said, stressing that the advantages go further than just cross-border traffic as it provides the opportunity to develop air traffic. “The treaty and its implementation has opened doors that were closed before,” he said. “Coming into Gibraltar doesn’t come with the question of ‘How long am I going to have to wait to go in?’.”

In terms of to what extent the treaty has affected tourism, Santos explained that while there is no longer an official count of people crossing the border, they have seen a rise in visitors to the Upper Rock. “We’ve lost the cable car for refurbishing for a while, but we’ve added a shuttle that takes people up the Upper Rock,” he explained, adding that retailers have also seen an increase of three to four per cent in sales this year.

“We’re seeing numbers rise of walkers and independent travellers going up the Upper Rock,” he added.

There has also been a rise in the number cruise ships including Gibraltar in their itineraries.

“This year, hopefully, will be a record-breaking year for Gibraltar. It’ll be the highest number of cruise ships that we’ve had, and we’re seeing numbers increase in 2027 as well. And now we’re working towards 2028 and 2029. So we are seeing that our collaboration with the cruising industry is paying off,” he explained.

Amid the coming and going of professionals at the Gibraltar stand, Santos spoke of how the World Travel Market would benefit the industry.

“Everyone is here. This is the place to meet. And for us, it’s about discussing the new products that we have available in Gibraltar,” he explained, listing the new Gibraltar Dungeons at the Moorish Castle which opened on Monday, a new visitor centre at Princess Caroline’s Battery, which opens next week, and the Northern Defences opening next year.

“These are things we’ve been promoting for the past few years, but now are becoming a reality,” he said, adding that staff were also answering questions regarding the border treaty and coming in by land or by air.

With so much to do, it’s no surprise that numbers of overnight stays in Gibraltar are increasing.

“If you want to stay in Gibraltar, there’s a good three to four days of attractions, as well as staying to enjoy our gastronomy, which is something that we’re really focusing on at the moment,” he said. “We also do a lot of event-based tourism. Next week we’ve got the literary festival, which is 80 per cent sold out,” added Santos.