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Royal Caribbean’s decision to drop Gib calls ‘embarrassing’, GSD says

Archive image of a Royal Caribbean International cruise ship in port. Photo by Johnny Bugeja

The GSD has said Royal Caribbean International’s decision not to call at Gibraltar in 2024 is both “concerning and embarrassing”.

The party said it is embarrassing for the Government and Gibraltar as a whole to have lost this cruise line in 2024, adding that the tourism industry should take notice.

In a press statement the GSD said it was “remarkable” that the Minister for Tourism was unaware of this development when the question was put to him

“To make matters worse the Chief Minister confidently stated that they did not believe that 2024 would be a year when there would be no calls from Royal Caribbean to Gibraltar,” the GSD said.

“It turns out the Chief Minister has been proven to be wrong.”

The GSD also said the Government later made inaccurate statements by stating that the ports of Malaga and Cadiz “will only receive one call from the brand in 2024”.

The party said this is incorrect from the company’s itinerary for 2024, which shows that Cadiz will receive three visits and Malaga five.

“We need to take a look at the significant turn-around Malaga, in particular, has experienced recently, transforming itself from a once forgotten city in Andalusia to a port, tourism, shopping and conference hub,” Damon Bossino, the Shadow Minister for Tourism said.

“In government we would be investing resources and taking bold decisions to transform Gibraltar into the touristic Mediterranean jewel it once again deserves to be.”

It added that the Government needs to take a long and hard look at Gibraltar’s offering and address where it is going wrong, and understand why the Royal Caribbean has decided to give Gibraltar a miss.

“The Government needs to get real,” the GSD said.

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