Jason Moore14/07/2016 00:00
TW
3

Palma city council is quite rightly trying to ease the strain of having thousands of cruise ship passengers descending on the city. In fact the council is looking at using the bus station in the Plaza España and other surrounding areas as an ideal drop-off point for passengers. This is not a bad idea but the council must also remember that passengers disembark in Palma to see the landmarks and not the inside of a bus station which is not close to any of the main attractions.

It is a problem which needs to be addressed. On some days the centre of Palma is a just one big mass of people. But rather than trying to move passengers to parts of the city which are not that interesting, why not coordinate visits of cruise ships with the cruise ship owners and the port authority? Palma is now one of the most popular cruise ship ports in the Mediterranean and this is fantastic news for Palma, but I would caution the city council against taking too much radical action because it could all end it tears and cruise ships could go elsewhere.

I do not understand why better use is made of the excellent cruise ship facilities in Alcudia. It has a first-rate cruise ship passenger terminal and plenty of facilities. I am sure that the business community in the north of the island would welcome the arrival of hundreds of cruise ship passengers on a regular basis. The cruise ship industry needs care and attention not disruption.