Tarragona prepares for the arrival of cruise ships

The webinar held today dealt with the challenges and preparation of a cruise destination under the "new normality"

Today, Thursday 11 June, the Port of Tarragona, with the collaboration of Cruise Knowledge Club, organised the first webinar on the management of the cruise ship sector under the new normality. Entitled "How to prepare ourselves as a destination for the arrival of cruise ships in the ‘new normal’ scenario", it was aimed mainly at the agents involved in the Tarragona-Costa Daurada cruise tourism destination.

El webinar began at 9 am with a presentation by Virginia López Valiente, Director General of CruisesNews Media Group, a company working exclusively with the cruise liner industry. She was followed by Josep Maria Cruset, president of the Port of Tarragona, who welcomed all the participants.

The other speakers on the webinar were Luis de Carvalho, CEO of Bermello Ajamil & Partners Europe, and Ramon Hurtado, Global Product & Operations Manager of Intercruises Shoreside & Port Services. All the speakers explained from their particular perspectives the different measures that would need to be implemented in the event of the season beginning.

Tarragona continues with its commitment to cruise tourism

In his welcome speech, the Port of Tarragona president, Josep Maria Cruset, stressed the track record of the cruise liner project in recent years. He highlighted its exponential growth in passenger numbers and emphasised that it was a strategic industry for both the Port of Tarragona and the territory. The Port president explained that "the evolution of the cruise ship sector in Tarragona has been very important in recent years, in both quantitative and qualitative terms, given the high rating awarded to the destination by visiting passengers."

Mr Cruset focused attention on the cruise liner project governance model, stating that "the world of cruises is an example of the organisation and cooperation of all the territory’s institutions". The Institutional Cruise Committee is made up of the Tarragona Port Authority, the town councils of Tarragona, Reus and Vila-seca; Tourism of the Catalonia; the Costa Daurada Tourism Board, Rovira i Virgili University, PortAventura, the Tarragona Provincial Federation of Hospitality and Tourism Businesses; and the Tarragona Chamber of Commerce, among others.

The TPA president materialised the Port’s allegiance to the project by emphasising that "the commitment to cruise ships is reflected in the construction of the new Balears Wharf". From 2021, the new cruise liner terminal on the Balears Wharf will be able to accept four vessels simultaneously on its 700-metre mooring line on the Llevant breakwater and the 450 metres on the new Balears Wharf, all with a 16-metre depth that will allow the largest cruise ships in the world to dock.

Mr Cruset concluded his speech by commenting on the future opportunities the cruise ship industry represents for the territory. "The proximity to a very powerful tourism hub like PortAventura and the future Hard Rock project provides even better future perspectives in the mid-term", he explained. This means, according to Mr Cruset, that "the second cruise liner terminal on the Els Prats breakwater is an opportunity for the territory that could become a reality in 2025-2027".

A complex situation

One of the ideas transmitted in today’s webinar was the corroboration that the situation prior to the Covid-19 crisis was very hopeful for the sector. There was a huge demand for vessels on a worldwide basis, although the new situation in which we find ourselves requires that we wait until the demand rallies.

One of the conclusions of the meeting was that in the current situation the sector’s businesses are being required to assume many costs and also that when demand begins to return, things will not go back to the previous situation, but that rather there will be many changes, as indeed there will be in society as a whole".

The discussion also approached the situation of cruise ships and particularly that of the crews. Some crew members find themselves in very difficult situations, either through fear or a lack of procedures to allow them to return to their countries of origin.

Another of the consequences of the pandemic and one that the new normality will have to take into account is that a *protocolisation will be necessary. Nevertheless, despite the aforementioned difficulties, the general tone of the webinar was optimistic. The experts affirmed that "looking to the future we can see green shoots for the sector" given that the majority of the cruise passengers who have already made voyages or who have had to cancel due to *Covid-19 have already rebooked.

How to work in the new normality and the key to the return

One of the key factors of the new normality is that "the consumer needs security". The key is for the information on protocols to reach the companies correctly and clearly and, following that, for the consumers themselves know at all times what they have to do and how they have to act.

As pointed out by the experts, it is necessary for all the actions to be perfectly coordinated, including, for example, separation, signposting, avoiding having to hand over documentation, an area for PPE distribution, protocols for persons with symptoms, ventilation, staff training, and improvements to hygiene and disinfection measures. For this purpose they recommend setting up a coordinating committee, given the number and complexity of measures that have to be taken into account.

They explained that things are moving in the right direction. Some shipping lines are already well advanced with their new protocols, in line with those recommended by the governments. We should not be surprised at this, as shipping lines have always been at the vanguard of passenger hygiene and safety protocols.

Nevertheless, the sector depends on decisions beyond its control. To resume sailings, it needs restrictions to be lifted and for countries and ports to allow cruise ships to enter. A return to the operation of the cruise season also depends on, and is directly related to, the health and safety protocols at their disposal, the availability of hotels and their restrictions, accessibility to tourist attractions (museums, streets, parks, etc.), the availability of public transport, trains, buses, planes; etc.

Tarragona, a destination with many opportunities

The webinar also dealt with the particular situation of Tarragona as a cruise tourism destination. According to the speakers at the virtual meeting, "the new normality will require creating new itineraries and smaller destinations that could offer more opportunities". It will be necessary to develop new strategies, organise new tours and the companies will have to find new customers.

Although the cruise liners are not currently sailing, we know the shipping lines are preparing for their return and are seeking new opportunities for when this can come about. It is expected that the first tourists to return will be those from the domestic market and that the most affluent will be the first to be able to travel.

One of the factors that will have to be taken into account is the fear of large spaces and agglomerations. Therefore the offer will be orientated towards more specialised trips and activities in the open air that allow social distancing and, at the same time, economic sustainability.

Two of the most reiterated recommendations for facing up to the new situation are teamwork and digitalisation. The sector’s agents agree on the need for teamwork to achieve the objectives of resuming tourism and also to take advantage of all the benefits offered by digitalisation: technology to promote destinations; total connection to be able to make offers and promotions at the visiting points; signposting in all the main languages; speedy and constant communication between destinations and tourism companies, etc.

The new normality in the cruise ship sector

The Port of Tarragona continues to work on being ready to restart the cruise season as soon as it becomes possible, always on the proviso that the hygiene and safety conditions allow it, while giving maximum priority to people’s health.

In the new normality, tourism will be affected by new health protocols and the introduction of measures to minimise the risk of infection. Things will change substantially and the whole sector will have to adapt its operations to the new standards and measures.

From that point of view, the webinar contributed to a realisation of the need to be better prepared for the possibility that the 2020 season could *restart its activity, as well as for the need to be ready to reinitiate the logistics agilely and safely from the outset. At the same time, it provided specific practical recommendations on how to assume that at any time from now on it will be necessary to implement those measures for reopening 2020, and if not, the 2021 season.

The beginning of the season is still an unknown quantity and the agents involved are pending of the evolution of events. If in the end it is not possible to begin this season, then all the work carried out to date will serve to be better prepared for the 2021 season that, according to sector studies, is registering higher levels of advance bookings than in previous years.