Junta's tourism boss calls for debate on impact of cruise ship passenger numbers in Andalucía

The Seatrade Cruise Med international congress opened in Malaga on Wednesday, the second time the event has been held in the city. This year it has attracted a record number of exhibitors and attendees, with 106 exhibitors from 97 countries, more than 2,000 accredited professionals and 26 shipping companies. At its inauguration the congress expected a report on the good visitor numbers and income from this sector of the travel industry. However, the Junta de Andalucía's minister for tourism, Arturo Bernal, instead reflected on the risks that this activity entails for the cities where the ships dock and the need to provide answers to the public debate that has arisen about the saturation of the historic areas.

"The arrival of cruise ships has several aspects that generate debate, such as pollution and the impact of passengers on the city's inhabitants," Bernal began, warning that the number of passengers on these ships are now seven to eight times higher than they were a few years ago. In fact, he picked up on one media definition of this phenomenon: "wave tourism".

Malaga received just over 300 stopovers and 520,000 passengers; this year it is expected to maintain the same figures, although for 2025 there are forecasts of significant growth.

"We have to know how to digest this data as there is a debate in the local communities to which we cannot be oblivious. We have to reflect on the present and the future of cruise tourism, how to deal with the impact on local residents and the necessary environmental sustainability; we are at a decisive point to address the challenges of sustainability," Bernal said

The regional tourism minister advocated "working with the destinations to expand their offers and not concentrate everything in the historic centres of the cities". "Andalucía wants to be a leader in this debate with the local communities: it knows how to listen and is ahead of the trends."

In Bernal's opinion, the local community is the differentiating element of the experience that a cruise ship tourist expects: "They don't expect to arrive at theme parks or empty or saturated cities, but rather that they are welcomed in friendly surroundings."