Spanish ports on the road to the full recovery of cruise ship tourism
The Port Authorities plan to invest more than 176 million euros in passenger terminal facilities and equipment in the period 2023-2026.
28-03-2023 (Spanish State Ports Public Body). Spanish ports of general interest are taking part in Seatrade Cruise Global, the largest cruise ship fair in the world, which is being held in Fort Lauderdale, USA, from 27th to 30th March, with the aim of promoting port facilities and services for cruise tourism, with the participation of more than 80 shipping companies, 500 exhibitors from 85 countries and an influx of more than 10,000 attendees.
Forecasts for this year see a full recovery of cruise ship traffic and cruise passengers to pre-pandemic levels, which reached a historic high in Spain in 2019, with more than 10.6 million cruise passengers and 4,236 cruise ships passing through the Port Authorities' facilities, with annual growth of around 5%.
The importance of ports and cruise tourism as a dynamic element of Spanish economic activity is indisputable. This industry's significance in our economy is reflected by the fact that during that year, a turnover of almost 6 billion euros was obtained, contributing 2.8 billion euros to national GDP, and more than 50,000 jobs.
At the close of financial year 2022, more than 8.1 million cruise passengers and 4,525 cruise ships were registered which, in the case of the latter, exceeded the figures for 2019. The latest available data, corresponding to February, recorded more than 1.1 million cruise passengers, with an increase of 147.6% compared to the same period last year, in other words, the number of cruise passengers multiplied by almost 2.5 in the first two months of the year.
Public investment in facilities and equipment for passenger terminals, planned for the period 2023-2026, amounts to 176.2 million euros, with prominent investments being made in the Port Authorities of the Balearic Islands, Tarragona, Valencia and Barcelona.
In this edition of Seatrade Cruise Global, and in a space of 418m2, the Puertos del Estado stand hosts the participating Port Authorities, which are: A Coruña, Alicante, the Balearic Islands, Barcelona, Bilbao, Cartagena, Ferrol, Melilla, Santander, Tarragona, Valencia and Vigo, as well as Tourspain. Similarly, the Port Authorities of the Bahía de Algeciras, Almería, the Bahía de Cádiz, Huelva, Málaga, Motril and Seville are represented by Suncruise, and those of Las Palmas and Santa Cruz de Tenerife by Cruises Atlantic Islands.
Once again, the distinctive image of the Spanish port system at the fair is presented under the slogan, 'Ports of Spain. We give you the welcome, you deserve'. Also scheduled during the days of the trade fair is the visit to the stand of the Minister of Tourism in Miami, Elvira Marcos, as well as the usual working meetings with companies, shipping companies and institutions, with the aim of promoting destinations and services, and to consolidate and increase Spain's presence abroad.