German cruise company AIDA Cruises debuts in Palamós with AIDAaura, scheduled this year to make six calls and bring in 8,000 tourists, guaranteeing around 500,000 euros for local area.
On May 17th, the German company AIDA Cruises docked in Palamós (Costa Brava) for the first time, thanks to the efforts of Costa Brava Cruise Ports at leading cruise ship events to attract new liners to call at the port. This company will call at Palamós six times throughout the season with its cruise ship AIDAaura. The managing director of Ports de la Generalitat, Joan Pere Gómez Comes, pointed out that these six calls “will bring in 8,000 cruise tourists from Germany and around 500,000 euros for the local area”.
Mr. Gómez, accompanied by the chairman of the Palamós Chamber of Commerce, Xavier Ribera, and representatives from Palamós Town Council, welcomed in the first call of the German company AIDA Cruises at the port of Palamós. Mr. Gómez then presented a commemorative plaque to the captain of cruise ship AIDAaura, on the occasion of her first visit to the region.
66% of cruise passengers stay in Palamós
The cruise ship AIDAaura today made the first of six calls scheduled for this season. This ship, renowned for the face design on her bow, called at Palamós with almost 1,300 passengers, mostly Germans, and more than 390 crew. She arrived from the Italian port of Livorno at 8.00 am and departed at 7.30 pm on course for Mahón (Menorca).
Mr. Gómez also referred to the number of passengers who stay in the town and those who head out on day trips, explaining that “66% of the tourists from AIDAaura decided to stay in Palamós, while 34% set out on trips to the hinterland”, such as the Jewish Quarter of Girona, the Dali Museum in Figueres. the Gala-Dalí Theatre-Museum in Púbol. the medieval villages of Pals and Peratallada, Tossa de Mar and Lloret de Mar, and even the cycling route around Camino de Ronda.
AIDAaura boasts three restaurants, a theatre, a library, a golf range, running tracks, a basketball court, a children’s club and a gym. As for specs, she is Italian-flagged and measures 203 metres, with a draught of 6 metres and a gross weight of 42,289 tons.
The cruise ship AIDAaura belongs to the German company AIDA Cruises, which is a firm believer in contemporary art sourced from its very origins. In 1996, it commissioned the artist Feliks Bütter to decorate its ships. Since then, AIDA has given unconditional support to contemporary art, freeing up spaces on certain ships to stage exhibitions and art auctions. In fact, the red lips painted by Bütter on the bow of its ships have become the hallmark of the company.
