MercoPress. South Atlantic News Agency

Gibraltar ‘invaded’ by 7.000 cruise passengers; 330.000 expected this season

The Rock’s Main Street taken over by visitors

Gibraltar’s Main Street was a hive of activity on Tuesday as two cruise ships carrying over 7,000 passengers arrived in the Rock. The “Independence of the Seas” and the “Grand Princess” both arrived early in the morning carrying 4,200 passengers and 2,900 passengers respectively, reports the Gibraltar Chronicle.

They enjoyed Rock tours and sightseeing, but it was on Main Street that their presence in Gibraltar was most noticed. All through the day until mid-afternoon, Gibraltar’s pedestrian artery was teeming with visitors.

Cruise visits represent an important area of Gibraltar’s economy. Altogether there are 190 cruise calls scheduled this year, an increase of 8% on 2010 with 330,000 passengers. A total of 172 calls have so far been booked for 2012 with an estimated
total of 320,000 passengers.

“The cruise sector of our tourism industry is doing well and is the result of many years hard work,” said Joe Holliday, Minister for Enterprise, during his recent budget speech to Parliament.

The Gibraltar Government will this year invest in extending and refurbishing the cruise terminal, as well as beautifying the promenade into town.
It will also approve legislation to allow cruise ships to open their onboard casinos if they remain in Gibraltar overnight.

Mr Holliday said this move would encourage operators to stay longer in Gibraltar at a time when the trend is to shorter visits in order to allow for slow steaming between ports in order to save on fuel.