Today

the first cruise ship has docked in a port on the Peninsula

after 15 months without being able to do so due to the pandemic.

Specifically, it has been

the ship 'Mein Schiff 2', of the German tour operator TUI,

which has docked this Tuesday in the port of Malaga.

He departed from the island of Gran Canaria and will set sail for Mallorca, in the Balearic Islands.

Shipping companies were prohibited from stopping at Spanish ports on their international route until last day 7, when the Government decided to lift this restriction, coinciding with the opening to tourism from third countries.

In all that time

they have been doing domestic cruises but only through the archipelagos.

Most shipping companies make international routes

, and that is why the sector has been demanding for months that this ban be lifted, claiming, in addition, that tourists who embark do so with a vaccine or a PCR test, which greatly reduces the risk.

These security protocols were already approved last fall, when some shipping companies returned to sail after months without being able to do so.

To date, these ships have been forced to avoid Spanish ports

, although they could dock in countries such as Italy (where the majority have gone) or Greece.

Protocols

Passengers are allowed to go ashore but in groups, so that they comply with current sanitary restrictions.

The walks are done in bubble groups, to minimize the risk.

In the case of the TUI shipping company, it also transfers its passengers on its own planes to the Canary Islands.

The first international cruise to arrive at a Spanish port

(today's one was traveling from the Canary Islands to the Balearic Islands, without stopping in another country)

will do so next week,

on the 26th. It will be the Italian MSC Cruises, which

will stop in Barcelona within its route through the Mediterranean

, thus becoming the first company to set foot on a Spanish port within its itinerary through several countries.

Other companies, such as Costa Cruises or Norwegian Cruise, have also incorporated our country into their trips, although more towards the end of the summer.

In 2019,

international cruises contributed some 3.4 billion to Spanish GDP

, and accounted for 50,000 jobs, according to the International Association of Cruise Lines.

According to the criteria of The Trust Project

Know more

  • Malaga

  • Majorca

  • Balearics

  • Italy

  • Greece

  • GDP

  • Canary Islands

  • Barcelona

  • Catalonia

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