Cartagena de Indias, one of the most popular tourist destinations in Colombia, received, for the first time in the country’s history, six cruise ships in one day, which means that about 13,200 tourists visited the city.
Since December, “the port of Cartagena once again became a port of embarkation for cruise ships after the disappearance of the Spanish cruise line Pullmantur,” celebrated the coordinator of the city’s port’s cruise terminal, María Elvira Bonilla.
The Celebrity Constellation of the shipping company Celebrity Cruises docked in the Caribbean city; Norwegian Cruise Line’s Norwegian Bliss; the Grandeur Of The Seas operated by Royal Caribbean International; the Zaandam of the Holland America Line and the Star Pride of the shipping company Windstar Cruises.
Also read: “Siren blast” postponed after agreement between MinInterior and fire departments
Along with these ships is the exclusive Clipper Stad Amsterdam sailboat that is circumnavigating the planet on a voyage that cast off in August 2023 and aims to finish in August 2025 after visiting, among others, cities such as Tokyo, Shanghai, Sydney, Mumbai , Cape Town, New York and London.
Some of these cruises will spend the night in Cartagena to “also learn about the nightlife that the city offers,” Bonilla added.
According to the official, the average expense of each visitor is about 122 dollars, figures supported by a study by the consulting firm BREA, contracted by the Florida and Caribbean Cruise Association (FCCA).
This would give a figure of “about 1.2 million dollars in this single day,” Bonilla said.
“The impact is so significant for the economy that the Norwegian Bliss ship alone, which docked with 4,909 visitors, distributed among 3,203 passengers and 1,706 crew members, dispatches an average of 60 transports between buses and vans in addition to the passengers who decide to get off on their own. and take taxis to visit the city,” according to Bonilla.
The full season of cruise ships arriving in Cartagena, which started in July 2023 and ends in June 2024, will have 189 calls with some 450,000 visitors and an economic impact estimated at 50 million dollars.
