El turismo de cruceros en el triángulo del estrecho: tendencias, nuevos desafíos y oportunidades

The Mediterranean has become one of the most important areas of cruise tourism in the world, along with the Caribbean. Andalusia currently has a privileged position in relation to the number of cruise ships and stopovers it receives, being the fourth region in Spain and the second in the Peninsula, after Catalonia. In the case of the Strait of Gibraltar, being a strategic area between the north of Morocco and the south of Spain, cruise tourism is presented as an opportunity for all agents in the sector, although with certain uncertainties that in some cases are difficult to resolve by public institutions. One of these uncertainties is the complete renovation of the port of Tangier Ville, which, together with the port of the Bay of Cadiz and the port of Gibraltar on the other side of the Strait, represents a challenge for the interests of the shipping companies and the stability of the local ports (destinations). Despite the current global uncertainty due to the COVID-19 health crisis, there are factors that can help an early tourism recovery, such as the recent social and political stability of the southern Mediterranean coast, which, since 2017, has generated a restructuring of the tourism activity. In this study, an analysis of cruise shipping in the area of the Strait of Gibraltar is carried out. The main objective is to raise possible challenges and opportunities or alternatives that allow the complementarity of the ports of Tangier, Cadiz and Gibraltar (the Strait Triangle) through strategies that include cruise tourism within a global offer of blue tourism and where the port and the city can play a determining role.