Holiday to Majorca: UK holidaymakers issued warning as as popular Spanish destination plans to bring in Venice-style cruise ban to limit tourist numbers

A holiday warning has been issued to UK tourists as popular Spanish destination Majorca is planning to bring in a Venice-style cruise ban to limit visitor numbers. The Committee on Tourism, Trade, Employment, Culture and Sport has reportedly approved an initiative to reintroduce a cap on cruise ships to Palma, the island's capital.

The Majorca Daily Bulletin reports that the proposal calls on the Balearic Government to reach an agreement with the cruise lines and shipping agents. The Balearic Islands Port Authority (APB) and Palma City Council will also be required to approve in order to renew the agreement on limiting arrival of cruise ships in the port of Palma.

Earlier this year in Madrid, a group of politicians expressed their interest in the possibility of promoting a stricter regulatory framework on the activity of cruise ships. It comes after there has been an increase in the number of cruise ships arriving in the Balearics over the past few years, the Majorca Daily Bulletin added. Palma is one of the top cruise ship ports in the Mediterranean, attracting in excess of 2.5 million passengers per year, including some of the biggest cruise ships in the world.

Politicians are now keen to implement a new set of rules on cruise ships in terms of taxation, the environment or the use of less polluting fuels to lower those numbers once more. If a fresh ban were to be implemented it would follow the one that was implemented in Venice in 2021. Italian authorities approved a ban on cruise ships entering the historic city in response to a request from UN cultural body Unesco three years ago.

Critics argued that the ships caused pollution and eroded the foundations of the city, which already suffers from regular flooding. As a result, large ships were forced to dock at the city's industrial port.