The Minister for Business, Tourism, Transport and the Port has announced that Gibraltar is now ready to welcome back cruise ships, their passengers and their crew. The Port of Gibraltar and the Gibraltar Tourist Board have continued to work proactively during this pandemic to support the cruise industry. These efforts were recognised by MedCruise during the second edition of the Association’s awards where Gibraltar was named as the “Western Mediterranean MedCruise port showing the greatest commitment during the pandemic”.
Minister for Business, Tourism, Transport and the Port, the Hon Vijay Daryanani MP said: “With the necessary safety protocols now in place, I am pleased to announce that Gibraltar is now ready to welcome back cruise ships. I have been discussing the resumption of cruise calls now for a while with cruise executives and we have worked hard to ensure that we can make this happen. The local shore excursion agents and shipping agents are also now prepared to continue their excellent tasks. In addition, the cruise companies have carried out impressive work in terms of on-board testing and screening facilities, which will be part of their protocols.
Gibraltar offers many advantages for cruise itineraries with our excellent port facilities and our great range of shore excursion opportunities. The proximity of the port to the city centre is a great advantage, where transit times for passengers to enjoy the uniqueness of the destination are minimal, a fact that is often welcomed by passengers and shore excursion management teams. Thanks to the assistance offered by the Government in the UK, the population of Gibraltar is fully vaccinated, making us one of the safest destinations in Europe to travel to at present.
Aside from many of the physical protocols that will remain in place, if passengers and crew have either a valid PCR or lateral flow test taken up to 72 hours before arrival they will be able to disembark and visit Gibraltar.
I have now written to all the cruise lines that normally call at Gibraltar and others I would like to attract or welcome back, to let them know that we are open for business again.
I am committed to rebuilding this important source of revenue for our tourism, retail, leisure and hospitality industry and we look forward to welcoming cruise ships and their passengers and crew to Gibraltar.”
