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Spain to allow cruise ship arrivals from 7 June

Latest: Coronavirus in Spain figures (2 June)

International cruise ships will be able to dock again in Spanish ports from 7 June, the Spanish government said on Saturday, lifting a ban that was imposed when the Covid-19 pandemic began.

The measure will be lifted due to the easing of the virus in Europe where most cruise passengers come from, as well as rising vaccination numbers, a transport ministry statement said.

It was also due to the falling numbers of virus cases in regions where most cruise ships dock.

The ban was first imposed in mid-March 2020 during the first State of Alarm in Spain, and later took the form of a resolution which was published on 23 June by Spain’s Directorate General of Shipping (DGMM).

Cruise ships in the port of Barcelona. (Pepe Navarro)

Before the pandemic, Spain was Europe’s second-most popular destination for cruise ship stop-overs, the ministry said, indicating it played an important economic role for the Spanish economy.

In 2019, international cruises contributed around 2.8 billion euros to Spain’s GDP, accounting for some 50,000 jobs and 1.5 billion euros in wages, the ministry said, citing figures from the Cruise Lines International Association.

Covid-19 figures in Spain on Friday showed that all regions now have an incidence rate below 200, and there had been the lowest daily increase in deaths since last August.

18.6% of the Spanish population have now been fully vaccinated against Covid-19. Overall, 94.8% of all citizens aged over 60 have now received at least one jab. Also read: Covid-19 Vaccinations in Spain

Click here for all our reports related to Travel.

A cruise ship in the port of Barcelona. (Vicente Zambrano González)

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