Barcelona Plans Cruise Terminal Cuts Amid Overtourism, Australia Sees Regional Cruise Decline

Australia's cruise industry has experienced a significant decline in capacity, dropping by around 35% over three years, with regional areas like Tasmania, Western Australia, and South Australia disproportionately affected. This decline is driven by cruise lines centralizing operations in major hubs such as Sydney and Brisbane and streamlining itineraries, which reduces visits to smaller ports and limits economic benefits to regional towns. Western Australia has seen cruise ship visits plummet by 52%, and Adelaide has experienced a 56% drop in visits by large ships. Meanwhile, Barcelona, Europe's busiest cruise port, is taking measures to curb overtourism by reducing its cruise terminal capacity from seven to five terminals by 2030, lowering passenger handling capacity from 37,000 to 31,000. This move aims to control the growing number of cruise visitors, which increased by 20% to 1.2 million in early 2025, and to address local protests and overcrowding concerns near cultural landmarks. Additionally, the port's refurbishment will support connecting ships to the local electricity grid to reduce emissions, aligning with EU regulations requiring onshore power supply infrastructure by 2030, although many European ports are currently lagging in meeting this target.