Just stay away: Barcelona to reduce cruise arrivals

Barcelona, the busiest cruise port in Europe, is moving to reduce cruising's impact on the city's over-stretched infrastructure.

The Spanish city is to reduce its cruise terminal capacity by the end of the decade as part of a broader push to rein in surging tourist arrivals.

News hub Travel Mole reports a new agreement between Barcelona City Hall and the Port Authority will see the number of cruise terminals cut from seven to five by 2030.

This move will lower the port’s maximum capacity for simultaneous cruise passengers from 37,000 to 31,000.

“This is the first time in history that limits are being placed on the growth of cruise ships in the city,” said Mayor Jaume Collboni.

The mayor, who has been vocal about addressing over-tourism, previously said he aimed to reduce the number of one-day cruise visits, which often lead to overcrowding at popular sites such as the Sagrada Familia.

The decision comes amid a surge in cruise activity.

Between January and May 2025, cruise ship calls to Barcelona increased by 21%, while passenger arrivals rose by 20% to 1.2 million, compared to the same period in 2024.

These figures marked an acceleration from the 20% overall growth in cruise passengers recorded between 2018 and 2024.

Barcelona has faced increasing push-back from residents over the impacts of mass tourism, including housing pressure, environmental degradation, and congestion at cultural landmarks.

Protests have become more frequent in recent years, highlighting growing frustration with the volume of short-term visitors.

Barcelona began pushing cruise operations away from the city center in 2018, culminating in the closure of the North Terminal at the base of Las Ramblas by 2023.

The port redevelopment plan - already underway - includes the demolition of older terminals and the construction of a new, more sustainable Terminal C, with shore power and expanded capacity for 7,000 passengers.

The overhaul also includes improved shuttle transport, digital crowd-monitoring systems, and a €90 million expansion of the Porta d’Europa bridge to better connect the port to the city. Completion is due in 2027.

Once complete, four of the five terminals will be privately operated by major cruise lines : Terminals D and E by Carnival Corp., Terminal H by MSC Cruises, and the under-construction Terminal G by Royal Caribbean Group. Terminal C will remain publicly owned.

Demolition of the current Terminal C is expected by the end of 2026, with the new terminal slated to open in 2028 and reach full operational capacity by 2030.

Czech mate as locals swear off the beer

Czechs drink more beer per capita than anyone else on the planet. 

That’s been the case for decades but now people in the Czech Republic are losing their taste for refreshing lager. 

Economic uncertainty and the rising cost of draught beer have affected consumer spending on beer, new data shows.

Novinky.cz says beer consumption in the Czech Republic is still the highest in the world despite its significant drop in recent years.

The average number of beers drunk per capita in 2023 was 256 beers per head, which is equal to approximately 128 litres.

Radio Prague International reported beer consumption reached a record high in 2005 when Czechs consumed 163.5 litres, or 327 beers per head.

Germany has also reported a downturn in beer consumption.

Dear tourists: Please go away we don't want you here

First Venice took action against over-sized cruise ships, now Amsterdam is cracking down.

The Dutch city plans to start cutting the number of ships that can stop at its main port terminal over the coming years, its municipal government has said.

Starting from 2026, the number of sea cruise vessels that can stop at the Passengers Terminal Amsterdam will be set at 100 per annum, down from 190 today.

Within a decade, cruise ships will not be allowed to stop at the main terminal, and by 2035 the main terminal for cruise stops will be outside the city, travel news portal Skift reports.

All cruise ships will be required to use shore power by 2027.

This means ships will have to get their electrical power from the shore while docked at the port, cutting the use of onboard diesel engines - a contributor to carbon emissions.

“By limiting sea cruises, requiring shore power, and aiming for the cruise terminal to move from its current location in 2035, the council is responsibly implementing the proposal to stop sea cruises,” said Hester van Buren, an alderman for the municipal government.

Both Venice and Amsterdam have concerns about over-tourism and its impact on the environment.

In Venice, the government has limited the number of cruise ships at its industrial port and is building a smaller terminal outside the city centre.

The cruise cap is the latest policy by Amsterdam to combat over-tourism.

In April, the city banned the construction of new hotels. And earlier this year, it launched a new campaign to discourage nuisance party tourists from visiting the city’s red light district.

Meanwhile, the mayor of Barcelona, Mayor Jaume Collboni, revealed this month that his city plans to ban short-term vacation rentals by 2028.

That plan is in response to rising tourist numbers and ever-increasing rents for locals with a large portion of housing stock having been turned into accommodation for visitors.

Italy facing disastrous 2023 wine vintage

Extreme weather conditions are threatening a much-reduced 2023 wine vintage crop in Italy.

The harvest could shrink up to 14% due to the effects of intense heat, storms and other weather issues linked to climate change, leading agriculture group Coldiretti said on its website.

Rome-based Coldiretti is the free trade association of agricultural entrepreneurs and farmers.

It is still early days and much depends on conditions in the coming weeks but it predicted national production could be around 43 million hectolitres in 2023, compared to 50 million hectolitres last year, the organisation says.

If this forecast is accurate, 2023 would rank alongside 1948, 2007 and 2017 as one of the smallest Italian wine harvests on record, it said.

The situation varies significantly across regions, Coldiretti said. Southern and central areas of Italy are facing heavier potential falls in production than those in the north.

Parts of northern Italy did suffer hailstorms in recent weeks, but Coldiretti said potential yields appeared to be stable in Piedmont, Lombardy and the Veneto for the time being.

In Sicily, local communities have been among many in Europe facing devastating wildfires in recent weeks. In the vineyards, there have been concerns about the impact of heat and mildew on the 2023 harvest size.

"In a complex season in terms of weather, the 2023 harvest begins by paying a heavy price to the effects of climate change which, between bad weather and heat waves, have damaged the vineyards with national production estimated to drop by about 14% but with collapses up to 50% in the centre and south," the organisation said.

"This would be the worst result of the century for those areas."

In some areas between Molise and Abruzzo (top image) tere is a reduction of 60% of the bunches to be harvested.