Cruise ship in Palma, Mallorca

There have been no cruise ships in Palma since March last year. | Archive

Majorca Daily Bulletin reporterPalma09/04/2021 12:33
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The association of tour guides, which is part of the Pimem federation of small to medium-sized businesses, has sent a letter to the president of the Canary Islands, Ángel Victor Torres, asking him to "mediate" with the Balearic government and explain how the Canaries have managed the arrival of cruise ships.

The Balearic government is criticised for "having refused to recognise the strategic importance of cruise tourism". This has affected tourist guides as a professional group, the city of Palma and the whole of Mallorca.

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"The Canary Islands have known how to read the situation. Since October, the islands have been pleased to receive cruise traffic without any notable incidents, beyond four positive cases that were immediately controlled and treated by the cruise companies."

Spokesperson for the association, Alex Fraile, has asked for "fairness and to bear in mind that companies have invested a great deal of money in equipment for filtering the air on their ships". "They have designed security protocols which, to this day, no authority has managed to match. They have established the only safe corridors for travellers and destinations, with bubble groups and excursions. There are temperature controls for tourists when they get off ships and when they get back on."

The president of the tourist guides association, Gabriel Rosales, has stressed the need to "bring home" to the Balearic government the "reality of the shipping sector, which in the Canaries is operating safely, is generating work and is helping to reactivate tourism in a controlled manner".